• Country situational analyses provide rapid assessment of antibiotic use and policies, particularly where infrastructure for routine monitoring is lacking, so help to build political will and government capacity to take action to improve the appropriate use of antibiotics • South East Asian countries have high antibiotic use, and poor implementation of policies to encourage appropriate use • M...

BACKGROUND Drug therapy plays a key role in pediatrics. Effective treatment in pediatric practice means that medicines should be both effective and safe for children. However, there is not enough data on effectiveness and safety of medicines for children due to small number of clinical trials [1]. Access to medicines for children remains a serious problem worldwide [2]. The World Health Organiz...

BACKGROUND There are a number of challenges facing people in the last days of life who wish to receive care in their home environment. This includes timely access to medicines for symptom control. OBJECTIVE This article outlines the development of a concise list of core medicines that can provide symptom control in non-complex patients in the last days of life. The list is based on practical ...

a World Health Organization, 20 avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. Correspondence to Suzanne Hill (e-mail: [email protected]). b Therapeutics and Medicines Management, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Congella, South Africa. doi: 10.2471/BLT.07.046151 The WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, used by many countries to guide drug procurement and supply, has been a global standard for 30 years. ...

WHO has stated that convalescent blood or plasma is an option in the treatment of Ebola. In 1999, transfusion of locally collected convalescent blood helped decrease Ebola mortality. WHO recommends collection of convalescent plasma to treat patients in the fi ght against the Ebola outbreak. As there is an estimated 70% mortality, a randomised clinical evaluation involving 50 patients, receiving...

OBJECTIVE To explore the perspectives of a diverse group of stakeholders engaged in medicines decision making around what constitutes an "essential" medicine, and how the Essential Medicines List (EML) concept functions in a high income country context. METHODS In-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 Australian stakeholders, recognised as decision makers, leader...

This Personal View (BMJ 2017;359:j5007, doi:10.1136/bmj. j5007) states that the World Health Organisation has recently taken antiviral neuraminidase inhibitors off its Model List of Essential Medicines. It should say that “The World Health Organization has recently downgraded its recommendations in its Model List of Essential Medicines for the limited indication of severe illness due to confirm...