It is important to note that some of the progress can be attributed, in part, to advocacy efforts seperate from the IPPF progam.
- New prescription form now allows two essential medicines to be prescribed on the same form, while requiring only one additional signature for monitoring purposes but not for treatment approval (Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs)
- Prescription validity increased from 48 hours to 5 days (Executive Decree)
- Repealed 30 mg maximum daily prescribing doses and 5 day prescription duration limit (Ministry of Health Regulation)
- Expanded prescribing beyond patients with cancer or AIDS diagnoses (Ministry of Health Regulation)
- Successful procurement of slow-release oral morphine for the first time in 5 years (Ministry of Health)
- Began manufacture of immediate-release oral morphine, making it available at the national cancer hospital (by government license to local pharmaceutical company)
- First-ever shipment of morphine powder received by the only hospice, resulting in the development of record-keeping databases and written procedure on safe-handling; subsequent larger shipments arrived based on positive outcomes (National Pharmacy Board)
- Developed national strategy for palliative care, with an objective to "Refine the legal and regulatory systems and support implementation to ensure access and availability of essential medicines for medical and scientific use while maintaining measure for preventing diversion and non-medical us" (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare)
- Created National Association for Palliative Care to develop national palliative care policy, clinical tools to improve pain management, and sponsor training for healthcare workers on palliative care (palliative care providers)
- Approved National Palliative Care Strategy that recognized: opioids as essential for pain relief and palliative care, and the need to examine national drug control laws and conform them to international drug control conventions (Ministry of Health)
- Ordered regional controlled medication offices to ensure continuous availability of morphine (i.e., 24 hours a day and 7 days a week) in at least one pharmacy per region (Ministry of Health Resolution)
- Initiated a transport permit for transferring essential medicines from distributors to healthcare facilities, as well as among healthcare institutions, facilitating the safe, government-managed distribution of essential medicines to all pharmacies (National Drug Regulatory Office)
- Established the first "Palliative Care in Oncology" course and a training program, "Pain Management for 100 Health Professionals," which involved practitioners from 22 different hospitals (Ministry of Higher Education)
- Developed educational brochures for healthcare professionals and drug regulators about the modern use of essential medicines to manage cancer pain (Ministry of Health)
- Organized a series of workshops throughout the country to inform drug regulators and law enforcement officials about the importance of essential medicines for pain and palliative care and to discuss their roles (Palliative Care experts and National Department of Narcotics Control)
- Established a post-graduate diploma on palliative care and pan relief (Ministry of Health and the Post Graduate Institute of Medicine)
- Added immediate- and sustained-release morphine to list of reimbursable medicines (Ministry of Health)
- Added methadone, hydromorphone and injectable morphine to the list of medicines to be dispensed free of charge to patients with a prescription (Ministry of Health, National Obligatory Health Plan)
- Eliminated a tax on oral morphine powder, making it more affordable for hospices and palliative care programs (Ministry of Finance)