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“Inappropriate & overuse
of antibiotics is one of the
major drivers of antibiotic
resistance”
The World Health Organization’s Expert Committee has recently
recommended the addition of new medicines in its 20th Model List of
Essential Medicines besides listing out separate recommendations
for antibiotics. In this context, the BioVoice News spoke to one of the
expert committee member, Dr Sumanth Gandra who is also a Resident
Scholar and Fellow, Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy
(CDDEP). The interaction focused on the various aspects related to this
updation among other things. Read on:
BY RAHUL KOUL
Why does the WHO
release Essential
Medicines Lists
for adults and
children? How
much useful are the
updations of these
lists at regular
intervals?
Essential medicines
are the medicines that
satisfy the priority
healthcare needs of
the population. The
list is developed to
guide member states
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BioVoiceNews | July 2017
to develop their
individual national or
institutional essential
medicines list. The
medicines in the list
are intended to be
available within the
context of individual
members health
systems in sufficient
quantity and with
assured quality. In
addition to public
health relevance,
essential medicines
are selected based
on the evidence on
effectiveness, safety
and comparative cost
effectiveness of the
drug.
In the updated
2017 EML, 30 new
medicines were added
to adult list and 25 to
children list. Some of
the major highlights
include comprehensive
review of anti-bacterial
agents; addition
of delamanid for
treatment of multi-
drug resistant TB;