Guide on Estimating Requirements
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One of the barriers for access to controlled medicines is a reliable functioning system to estimate the volume needed for medical and scientific purposes. The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs requires that countries estimate their need for controlled substances annually. Only if they submit these estimates, other countries will issue exporting licenses. Currently, some countries do not submit these estimates to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and some others make too low estimates and do not adjust the estimates in the course of the year even when indicated.
For this reason, World Health Organization together with the INCB developed the INCB-WHO Guide on Estimating Requirements for Substances under International Control. This guide is intended to assist competent national authorities in calculating the quantities of controlled substances required for medical and scientific purposes. This will also help authorities to submit annual estimates of requirements for controlled substances that countries are required to furnish to the INCB. The Guide describes the principles of systems for estimates and assessments and various methods commonly used to quantify the requirements of controlled substances. It also provides an overview of major considerations to be addressed in order to apply these methods efficiently and accurately.
The guide is available in all six official UN languages. It can be downloaded free of charge.