The selection and use of essential medicines.

This report presents the recommendations of the WHO Expert Committee responsible for updating the WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines.. The goal of the meeting was to review and update the 18th WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (EML) and the 4th WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (EMLc).

In accordance with approved procedures, the Expert Committee evaluated the scientific evidence on the basis of the comparative effectiveness, safety and cost effectiveness of the medicines. Both lists went through major revisions this year, as the Committee considered 77 applications, including 29 treatment regimens for cancer, and innovative hepatitis C and tuberculosis (TB) medicines. The Expert Committee recommended the addition of 36 new medicines to the EML (15 to the core list and 21 to the complementary list); and recommended the addition of 16 new medicines to the EMLc (five to the core list and 11 to the complementary list).

Annexes to the main report include the revised version of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (19th edition) and the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (5th edition). In addition there is a list of all the items on the Model List sorted according to their Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification codes.