In this issue, Judith Paice and colleagues present an excellent “How We Do It” review on providing pain and palliative care education internationally.^[1] As a complement to this article, I will share a few reflections on my experience as an MD Anderson Cancer Center faculty member participating in the AfrOx-ASCO Palliative Care Conference, held January 31–February 2 in Accra, Ghana, at the Korle Bu teaching hospital. The Africa Oxford Cancer Foundation (AfrOx) is a nongovernmental organization whose mission is to partner with African countries to assist them with implementing comprehensive cancer prevention and control programs. (www.afrox.org). This conference was organized by Vanita Sharma and Stewart Kerr from AfrOx and by Mr. Doug Pyle and Ms. Vanessa Eaton from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in collaboration with the Ghana Health Service and local physician leaders, including Drs. Gladys Amponsah, Verna Vanderpuye, and Lorna Renner. The conference was supported by the Open Society Foundation and the National Cancer Institute (United States).

There is clearly a need for palliative care education across the globe, particularly in developing nations such as Ghana. Based on reporting of opioid consumption to the United Nations' International Narcotics Control Board, it is evident that the preponderance of the global morphine supply is consumed by only a few developed countries (United States, Canada, Germany, Austria, Australia, and New Zealand).^[2] Africa is lagging in comparison to Western nations in opioid analgesic use and palliative care, but the situation varies in different parts of Africa. Countries like South Africa and Uganda have developed integrated palliative care services, whereas Ghana currently is in the capacity-building phase.