WHO defines top 30 medicines to save mothers and children
21 MARCH 2011 | GENEVA - The World Health Organization's (WHO) first ever list of priority medicines for maternal and child health recommends to countries which medicines are most important for saving lives.
Access to appropriate medicines is vital to achieving global health goals. More than eight million children under the age of five still die every year from causes such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria. An estimated 1 000 women die every day due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Almost all of these deaths occur in developing countries and the vast majority can be prevented when the right medicines are available in the right formulations and are prescribed and used correctly.