The list (Essential Medicines List or EML), published by the World Health Organization, contains the medications considered to be most effective and safe to meet the most important needs in a health system.
It is frequently used by developed and developing countries to help develop their own local lists of essential medicines.
The list is divided into core items and complementary items. The core items are believed to be the most cost-effective options for key health problems and are usable with little additional health care resources. The complementary items (about 25% of items) either require additional infrastructure such as specially trained health care providers or diagnostic equipment or have a lower cost–benefit ratio.
The first list was published in 1977 and included 208 medications; it is updated the list every two years. The 22nd list was published in 2021 and contains 479 medications. Most medications on the list are available as generic products, however being under patent does not preclude inclusion.
A separate list for children up to 12 years of age, known as the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (EMLc), was created in 2007 and is in its 8th edition. It was created to make sure that the needs of children were systematically considered such as availability of proper formulations. The list is based on the 19th to 22nd edition of the main list.
See reference for more information.
Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Internet. Accessed on August 1, 2022. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHO_Model_List_of_Essential_Medicines
