This year WHO has published new global guidance on essential drugs and diagnostic tests to deal with the public health issues, address highly effective treatment, and also increase drug affordability.
The WHO has released a new list of essential treatment and diagnostic test intending to offer effective treatment solution, smart prioritization and easy accessibility for patients. Nearly around more than 150 countries are using WHO’s Essential Medicines List to take an appropriate decision regarding the medicines with the best value for money stated by WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Besides, this the new and advanced cancer drugs mentioned in this list are affordable and highly effective.
Following are the important medicines mentioned in the list (2019)
1- Cancer Treatment – WHO has added 12 new medicine for cancer treatment which are proven to be the best in terms of survival rates to treat cancer like prostate, melanoma, multiple myeloma, lung, and leukemia cancers.
2-Antibiotics – The Essential Medicine Committee has updated antibiotic list along with the advice on antibiotic use by updating the AWARE section, which suggests which antibiotic to be used for most serious infection. This will help to achieve effective treatment resulting and reduce the chance of infection. Three new antibiotics treatment drugs have been added by Essential Medicines Committee for treatment of serious infection.
Some of the other updates on the drugs and treatments are mentioned below:
1- New anticoagulant has been added as an alternative to warfarin for the treatment of atrial fibrillation and deep vein thrombosis. They are useful for low-income countries as they don’t require regular monitoring.
2- Biologics and their respective bio-similar have been added for the treatment of chronic inflammatory conditions.
3- A new Heat-stable carbetocin has been updated in the list for the treatment of postpartum hemorrhage. This new medicine has similar effects to oxytocin but is useful for the tropical region as it doesn’t require refrigeration.
This year the list was also updated to include more non-infectious and infectious disease
List of In Vitro Diagnostic:
Cancer – In cancer section WHO has added 12 test to diagnostic list to detect various tumors such as cervical, prostate, colorectal, liver, breast and germ cell cancers, leukemia and lymphomas. To promote this tests new section called anatomical pathology is added and this service will be available across the specialized laboratory.
Infectious Disease – New diagnostic test has been introduced especially for low and middle-income countries for an infectious disease like cholera, and neglected diseases like schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, dengue, and zika.
General Test: This section includes the test for a range of different diseases, such as iron tests (for anemia), and tests to detect thyroid malfunction and sickle cell. Also, these tests are beneficial for the screening of blood donations, especially to make blood transfusion safer.
The WHO has updated Essential Medicines List with the addition of 28 medicine for adults and 23 drugs for children and specifies new uses for already available 26 drugs that brings to a total of 460 medicines in the updated list for addressing effective treatment for the public.
Moreover, the updated Essential Diagnostic List encompass 46 general test which can be used for the routine test as well as for detection and diagnosis of various chronic and infectious disease.
Furthermore, the essential medicines committee has bifurcated list into two sections based on the user and settings: one for the community which encompasses self-testing and the second one is for clinical laboratories and specialized facilities.
Naira Shekhawat has been into Content Writing just after completing her Graduation in English Literature. Her love for words has won her many accolades in her respective jobs ever since. Naira covers business sections for VMR News. She is a traveller by heart and loves writing on food blogs as a freelancer.