WHO Model List of Essential Medicines


The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, published by the World Health Organization, contains the medications considered to be most effective and safe to meet the most important needs in a health system. The list is frequently used by countries to help develop their own local lists of essential medicine., more than 155 countries have created national lists of essential medicines based on the World Health Organization's model list. This includes countries in both the developed and developing world.
The list is divided into core items and complementary items. The core items are deemed to be the most cost-effective options for key health problems and are usable with little additional health care resources. The complementary items either require additional infrastructure such as specially trained health care providers or diagnostic equipment or have a lower cost–benefit ratio. About 25% of items are in the complementary list. Some medications are listed as both core and complementary. While most medications on the list are available as generic products, being under patent does not preclude inclusion.
The first list was published in 1977 and included 208 medications. The WHO updates the list every two years. The 14th list was published in 2005 and contained 306 medications. In 2015, the 19th edition of the list was published and contains around 410 medications. The 20th edition was published in 2017, and contains 433 medications. The 21st list was published in 2019 and contains 460 medications. The national lists contain between 334 and 580 medications.
A separate list for children up to 12 years of age, known as the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for Children, was created in 2007 and is in its 7th edition. It was created to make sure that the needs of children were systematically considered such as availability of proper formulations. Everything in the children's list is also included in the main list. The list and notes are based on the 19th to 21st edition of the main list. An α indicates a medicine is only on the complementary list.

Anaesthetics, preoperative medicines and medical gases

General anaesthetics and oxygen

Inhalational medicines

Non-opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIMs)

Nonspecific

Anthelminthics

Intestinal anthelminthics

Access group antibiotics

Antiherpes medicines

Nucleoside/nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors
Medicines for hepatitis B
Nucleoside/Nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors
Pangenotypic direct-acting antivirals

Antiamoebic and antigiardiasis medicines

For curative treatment
African trypanosomiasis

For treatment of acute attack

Immunomodulators for non-malignant disease

Cytotoxic medicines

Antianaemia medicines

Blood and blood components

Human immunoglobulins

Antianginal medicines

Anti-platelet medicines

Antifungal medicines

Ophthalmic medicines

Antiseptics

Adrenal hormones and synthetic substitutes

No listings in this section.

Progestogens

Insulins

Diagnostic agents

Recommendations for all
Recommendations for certain regions
Recommendations for some high-risk populations
Recommendations for immunization programmes with certain characteristics

Anti-infective agents

Contraceptives

Oral hormonal contraceptives

Medicines used in psychotic disorders

Medicines used in depressive disorders

Antiasthmatics and medicines for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Oral

Medicines used to treat gout