Philippines among worst places to die – study

MANILA, Philippines - A 2015 Quality of Death study index has listed the Philippines as one of the worst places to die, next to Iraq and Bangladesh.

The Economist Intelligence Unit report, commissioned by Singapore nonprofit Lien Foundation, indicated that the Philippines, out of 80 countries, scored poorly in terms of the quality of end-of-life care available.

The quality of death index was measured across five categories – palliative and healthcare environment, human resources, affordable care, quality of care and level of community engagement.

The low ranking of the Philippines in the overall scores of quality of death index was attributed to the severe shortage of specialized palliative care professionals, lack of government-led strategy for the development and promotion of national palliative care, limited number of government subsidies or programs for individuals accessing palliative care services, and limited public understanding and awareness of palliative care services.

Out of a list of 80 countries, the Philippines was placed near bottom when it comes to providing quality palliative care services. The country ranked 78th while Thailand came in 44th, China 71st and India 67th.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom was considered the best place to die in the world, along with other rich nations such as Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Belgium, Taiwan, Germany, the Netherlands and the US, respectively.

In Asia, the top places in the good death race are Taiwan (6th), Singapore (12th), Japan (14th) and South Korea (18th).