Essential medicines are those that satisfy the priority health care needs of the population. Essential medicines are selected with due regard to disease prevalence and public health relevance, evidence of clinical efficacy and safety, and comparative costs and cost-effectiveness. These are the medications to which people should have access at all times in sufficient amounts. The prices should be at generally affordable levels. Since 1977 the WHO has published a model list of essential medicines, with the current (2017) list for adult patients containing over 400 medicines. Since 2007, a separate list of medicines intended for child patients has been published. Both the WHO adult and children's lists contain a notation indicating that a particular medication is "complementary", thus essentially there are two lists, the "core list" and the "complementary list". The core list presents a list of minimum medicine needs for a basic health care system, listing the most efficacious, safe and cost-effective medicines for priority conditions. Priority conditions are selected on the basis of current and estimated future public health relevance, and potential for safe and cost-effective treatment. The complementary list presents essential medicines for priority diseases, for which specialized diagnostic or monitoring facilities are needed. In case of doubt medicines may also be listed as complementary on the basis of higher costs or less attractive cost-effectiveness in a variety of settings. The list is important because it forms the basis of national drugs policy in more than 155 countries, both in the developed and 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. The definition of essential medicines has changed over time. The original 1977 WHO definition was that they were medicines "of utmost importance, basic, indispensable, and necessary for the healthcare needs of the population". The concept was mentioned in one of the ten points of the 1978 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. Essential medicines are intended to be available within the context of functioning health systems at all times in adequate amounts, in the appropriate dosage forms, with assured quality, and at a price the individual and the community can afford. The Model List is a guide for the development of national and institutional essential medicine lists. It was not designed as a global standard. However, for the past 30 years the Model List has led to a global acceptance of the concept of essential medicines as a powerful means to promote health equity. Most countries have national lists and some have provincial or state lists as well. National lists of essential medicines usually relate closely to national guidelines for clinical health care practice which are used for the training and supervision of health workers. The WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines has been updated every two years since 1977. The current versions are the 21st WHO Essential Medicines List (EML) and the 7thWHO Essential Medicines List for Children (EMLc) updated in June 2019. Click here to see the current version of Essential Medicines List. References 1. https://www.who.int/medicines/services/essmedicines_def/en/ 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_medicines 3. https://www.who.int/medicines/publications/essentialmedicines/en/ By Garibli A.
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