Essential medicines

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the current list, see WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. For the current list for children, see WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children.
2017 marked the 40th anniversary of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines

Essential medicines, as defined by the

developing world. Many governments refer to WHO recommendations when making decisions on health spending. Countries are encouraged to prepare their own lists taking into consideration local priorities. Over 150 countries have published an official essential medicines list.[5]

Theory and practice

The definition of essential medicines has changed over time.

The original WHO definition in 1977 was that they were medicines "of utmost importance, basic, indispensable, and necessary for the healthcare needs of the population".

Alma Ata Declaration on primary health care
.

In 2002 definition was changed to:

Essential medicines are those that satisfy the priority health care needs of the population.[7]

And this remains the definition as of 2019.[1]

Selection

Items are chosen as essential medicines based on how common the disease that is being treated, evidence of benefit, the degree of side effects and the cost compared to other options.[8]

Cost-to-benefit ratio

Cost effectiveness is the subject of debate between producers (pharmaceutical companies) and purchasers of drugs (national health services). It is estimated that access to essential medicines could save 10 million people a year.[9]

History

The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines has been updated every two years since 1977. The 21st version was published in April 2019.[10]

Children's list

The first edition of the "WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children", was published in 2007, while the 7th edition was published in 2019.[5][4][10] It was created to make sure that the needs of children were systematically considered such as availability of proper formulations.[5] The first edition contained 450 formulations of 200 different medications.[5]

Number of medications

The number of medications has nearly doubled, from the original 208 in 1977, to more than 340.

antineoplastic drugs. The third list for children from 2011, contains 269 medications.[12]

Society and culture

Access to essential medicines are part of the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically goal 3.8.[13]

A number of organizations, which are global in scope, use the list to determine which medications they will supply.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Essential medicines". World Health Organization (WHO). Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  2. ^ "The Selection and Use of Essential Medicines (ss 4.2)". Essential Medicines and Health Products Information Portal. WHO Technical Report Series. World Health Organization (WHO). 2003. p. 132. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014.
  3. hdl:10665/325771
    .
  4. ^
    hdl:10665/325772
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-3-642-20195-0
    .
  6. hdl:10665/153132
    .
  7. ^ "Trade, foreign policy, diplomacy and health". Essential Medicines. World Health Organization (WHO). Dec 6, 2010. Archived from the original on August 6, 2004.
  8. S2CID 23873145
    .
  9. ISBN 978-0-230-61195-5
    .
  10. ^
    hdl:10665/325773
    . WHO/MVP/EMP/IAU/2019.05. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
  11. ^ "10 facts on essential medicines". World Health Organization (WHO). February 2010. Archived from the original on November 16, 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  12. PMID 23662019
    .
  13. PMID 27832874
    .
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