WHO Model List of Essential Medicines

The Model List of Essential Medicines (Model List) serves as a guide for the development of national and institutional essential medicine lists. Many international organizations as well as nongovernmental organizations and international non-profit supply agencies, have adopted the essential medicines concept and base their medicine supply system on the Model List.

The Model List is updated and revised every two years by the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Medicines. The 18th WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use met in March 2011 to produce the following lists: 17th WHO Model List of Essential Medicines and 3rd WHO Model List of Medicines for Children. Full details on Expert Committee decisions are published in the reports of the Expert Committee meetings as part of the WHO Technical Report Series.

• Current WHO Model List of Essential Medicines
• 18th Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines

Most countries have national lists and some have provincial or state lists as well. National lists of essential medicines guide the procurement and supply of medicines in the public sector, schemes that reimburse medicine costs, medicine donations, and local medicine production.

WHO compiles country information on national Essential Medicines Lists, national medicine policy and national Standard Treatment Guidelines.

• National Essential Medicines Lists

Since its first publication in 2002, the WHO Model Formulary has become an source of independent information on essential medicines for pharmaceutical policy-makers and prescribers worldwide. For each medicine the Formulary provides information on use, dosage, adverse effects, contraindications and warnings, supplemented by guidance on selecting the right medicine for a range of conditions.

Please send any comments, suggestions or amendments, as well as any request for the WHO Model Formulary in an editable format to modelformulary@who.int.

• WHO Model Formulary 2008
• WHO Model Formulary for Children 2010

A library on Essential Medicines was developed to provide information on all medicines listed on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines. The library is based on the 16th Model List of Essential Medicines and the 2nd Model List of Essential Medicines for Children. For each medicine on the List, there are links to clinical evidence about efficacy and safety, WHO or other clinical guidelines, price information and formulary information. It is possible to download the Formulary information to be used to develop a national edition.

• Essential Medicines Library