Home / Health / India's Essential Medicines List Outdated, WHO List Evolved
India's Essential Medicines List Outdated, WHO List Evolved
4 Jul
Summary
- India's essential medicines list has not been updated in nearly four years.
- WHO revised its list twice, now includes 523 medicines.
- Patients with cancer and diabetes are most affected by omissions.
India's National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) has not seen an update in nearly four years, contrasting with the World Health Organization's (WHO) two revisions of its essential medicines list during the same period. The Working Group on Access to Medicines and Treatments has formally appealed to the government for an urgent revision.
The NLEM, last updated in September 2022 with 384 medicines, dictates price ceilings enforced by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), aiming to make healthcare affordable. The WHO's current list comprises 523 medicines, highlighting a significant gap.
This delay disproportionately affects patients with cancer and diabetes. Key omissions from India's list include 17 cancer-treating agents, four supportive cancer-care medicines, and nine crucial monoclonal antibodies found on the WHO's list. These gaps deny patients access to internationally recognized standard-of-care drugs.
The Working Group emphasizes that the prolonged delay has profound constitutional and human rights implications, impacting both affordable access in the private sector and free access within the public health system. They advocate for a time-bound, transparent process to ensure the NLEM reflects current public health priorities and global benchmarks.
