Fact Book on WHO Level I and Level II monitoring indicators - To monitor the progress of efforts to improve the global medicines situation, WHO has developed a system of indicators that measure important aspects of a country’s pharmaceutical situa
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                                        tion. Level 1 indicators measure the existence and performance of key national pharmaceutical structures and processes. Level II indicators measure key outcomes of these structures and processes in the areas of access, product quality and rational use. These indicators can be used to assess progress over time; to compare situations between countries; and to reassess and prioritize efforts based on the results.  
This Fact Book gives the results of the assessment of Level I indicators conducted in 2003 and of Level II indicator surveys conducted between 2002 and 2004
                                    
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                                Report of the 23rd WHO Expert Committee on the selection and use of essential medicines
This executive summary reports the recommendations made by the Expert Committee for the 2021 update of the WH
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                                        O Model List of Essential Medicines (EML) and the Model List of Essential Medicine for Children (EMLc). 
The 23rd meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines was coordinated from Geneva, Switzerland, and held virtually from 21 June to 2 July 2021. The Committee considered 88 applications proposing additions, changes and deletions of medicines, medicine classes and formulation on the Model Lists of Essential Medicines. The Committee evaluated the scientific evidence for comparative effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of the medicines in question. The Committee also considered a review of the therapeutic alternatives for medicines on the Model Lists, and update to the AWaRe classification of antibiotics, and reviews and reports relevant to the selection and use of essential medicines.
                                    
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                                The Kenya Essential Medicines List 2019 is an indispensable guide to the medicines recommended for the management of common conditions in Kenya. It is primarily directed at health care providers and
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                                         medicines supply managers in the public and non-public health sectors. It should be used together with the current versions of updated national clinical guidelines for those conditions for which such guidelines exist
                                    
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                                This  field  study  to  measure  access  to  and  use  of  medicines  was  undertaken  in  GHANA  in May-June 2008. The  study  assessed  information  on  the  socio-economic  level  of  households,
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                                         and access to and use of medicines for acute and chronic conditions as well as opinions and perceptions about medicines. The survey was conducted in six regions. In each region, six reference public  heath  care  facilities  were  selected  among  those  participating  in  the  Level  II  Facility Survey  that was  carried  out in parallel. Within defined distances  from  each reference public health care facility, households were selected by purposive cluster sampling. A total of 1065 household  respondents  were  interviewed  by  means of  a  structured  paper  questionnaire
                                    
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                                Submitted to the US Agency for International Development by the
Systems for Improved Access to Pharmaceuticals and Services (SIAPS) Program.
This manual provides a framework to identify problems and design interventions to improve access to and use
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                                         of medicines for children.  It is a resource for both health policy makers and health system managers and presents a structured approach to the steps introduced in the framework in the context of child health.
                                    
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                                Using the WHO model list of essential medicines to update a national essential medicines list
Since 1977, WHO has been working with countries to design the package of essential 
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                                        medicines as an integral component of treatment within the continuum of care, developing and disseminating the Model List of Essential Medicines (Model List). WHO is committed to supporting Member States in sharing best practices in selecting
essential medicines, and in developing processes for the selection of medicines for national essential medicines lists (national EMLs, or NEMLs) consistent with the evidence-based methods used for updating the WHO Model List.
                                    
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                                The 23rd meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines was coordinated from Geneva, Switzerland, and held virtually from 21 June to 2 July 2021. The Committee consi
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                                        dered 88 applications proposing additions, changes and deletions of medicines, medicine classes and formulations on the Model Lists of Essential Medicines. The Committee evaluated the scientific evidence for comparative effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of the medicines in question. The Committee also considered a review of the therapeutic alternatives for medicines on the Model Lists, and update to the AWaRe classification of antibiotics, and reviews and reports relevant to the selection and use of essential medicines.
                                    
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                                Procurement and supply management activities are fundamental to consistent and reliable access to essential medicines and health products. To reduce the impact of CVD, action needs to be taken to improve prevention, diagnosis, care and management of
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                                         CVD diseases. Affordable essential medicines and technologies to manage CVD disease must be available where and when they are required. Medicines and technologies need to be managed appropriately to ensure that the correct medicines are selected, procured in the right quantities, distributed to facilities in a timely manner, and handled and stored in a way that maintains their quality. This needs to be backed up by policies that enable sufficient quantities to be procured in order to reduce cost inefficiencies, ensure the reliability and security of the distribution system, and encourage the appropriate use of these health products. In order to avoid stock-outs and the disruption of treatment, all related activities need to be conducted in a timely manner, with performance continually monitored, and prompt action taken in response to problems that may arise. Additionally, medication must be dispensed correctly and used rationally by the healthcare provider and patient alike. The purpose of this guide is to explain the necessary steps.
                                    
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                                Millennium Development Goal 8E aims for affordable access to essential medicines. Essential medicines, as defined by WHO, are those that “satisfy the health-care needs of the majority of the popul
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                                        ation” and that should therefore “be available at all times in adequate amounts”. However, there is a category of medicines that faces a unique challenge in terms of availability. These are the medicines governed by the international conventions on narcotic and psychotropic substances. “Controlled medicines” is the common definition for pharmaceuticals whose active principles are listed under the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs as amended by the 1972 Protocol, such as morphine and methadone; the 1971 United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances, such as diazepam and buprenorphine; and the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, such as ergometrine and ephedrine. The conventions list substances in “Schedules” according to their different levels of potential for abuse and harm, and the commensurate severity of control measures to be applied by countries.
                                    
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                                This chapter talks about how to safely use the medicines mentioned in the book to treat women’s health problems. It also provides information to help decide when to 
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                                        use medicines to improve women’s health.
                                    
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                                This  field  study  to  assess  the  pharmaceutical  situation  was  undertaken  in  Ghana  in May-June  2008  using  a  standardized  methodology  developed  by  the  World  Health Organization. The study assessed medicines availability   and affor
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                                        dability, geographical accessibility, quality and rational use among other issues. The survey was conducted in six regions. In each region, 6 public health care facilities, 12 private pharmacies and 1 warehouse were surveyed.
                                    
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                                A toolkit for pharmacists.
Emerging data show that medication errors and adverse events cause significant harm to patients’ health and
well-being. It is estimated that the burden of adverse events due to medicines is now comparable to that of
w
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                                        idespread diseases, such as malaria or tuberculosis.1 The impacts of medication errors also represent a
burden for health systems, with the annual cost associated with medication errors estimated at USD 42 billion
worldwideharm
                                    
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                                Improving the quality of hospital antibiotic use is a major goal of WHO’s global action plan to combat antimicrobial resistance. The WHO Essential Medicines List Access, Watch, and Reserve (AWaRe)
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                                         classification could facilitate simple stewardship interventions that are widely applicable globally. We aimed to present data on patterns of paediatric AWaRe antibiotic use that could be used for local and national stewardship interventions.
www.thelancet.com/lancetgh Vol 7   July 2019
                                    
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                                The manual contains basic principles of prescribing followed by chapters on medicines used in psychotic disorders; depressive disorders; bipolar disorders; generalised anxiety and sleep disorders; o
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                                        bsessive-compulsive disorders and panic attacks; and alcohol and opioid dependence
                                    
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                                This manual summarizes key issues related to the safety of NTD medicines and their administration, with a focus on essential medicines used in mass
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                                         drug administration (MDA), also called preventive chemotherapy. It can be used as a standalone reference manual, but is intended to be used in conjunction with the accompanying training modules, which provide practical instruction, and the aide-mémoires. Versions of the aide-mémoires and training modules are available respectively for both (i) programme managers and district-level health officials and (ii) community drug distributors and community health workers
                                    
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