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Equitable
access to essential medicines for priority diseases is one of the
requirements for fulfilling the fundamental right to health. World Health
Organization’s (WHO) goal in medicines is to help save lives and improve
health by ensuring quality, efficacy, safety and rational use of medicines,
including traditional medicines.
WHO’s
Medicine Strategy is based on four key objectives: strengthening national
medicines policy; improving access to essential medicines; the quality and
safety of medicines; and their rational use.
Medicine
Policy is the guiding force for the governments to prioritize the needs of
the country and design and implement programmes
to achieve them. A rational national medicine policy can ensure equitable
access to essential medicines. It can enable promotion of therapeutically
sound and cost effective use of medicines by health professionals and
consumers.
Accessibility
to medicines can be achieved through fair price mechanisms and improved
medicines supply system. Quality, Safety, and Efficacy of medicines can be
ensured by implementation of appropriate drug regulation and quality
assurance programmes.
Rational drug use can be promoted through the use of evidence based clinical
guidelines, use of essential medicine list, establishing Drugs and
Therapeutic Committees and supplying unbiased drug information to the prescribes, heath professionals and consumers.
The
WHO India collaborates with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization
(CDSCO), The Department of AYUSH (Ayurveda,
Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani,
Siddha and Homeopathy),
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Research
Councils, and National Medicinal Plant Board and other organizations in the
area of Essential Medicines and Pharmaceuticals to address issues of access,
quality, safety and rational use of medicines (both allopathic and
traditional medicine drugs).
 Useful
Links
 Central
Drug Standard Control Organization
Department
of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
WHO SEARO
WHO
HQ
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