In resolution S-30/1, the General Assembly adopted the outcome document of the special session on the world drug problem entitled “Our joint commitment to effectively addressing and countering the world drug problem”. Target 3.5 of UN Sustainable Development Goal 3 sets out a commitment by governments to strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse. Since its creation, WHO has played an important role within the UN system in addressing the world drug problem.
- Changes to the index are made annually and a cumulative list including all ATC and DDD alterations made since 1982 is available here .
- WHO Drug Information is a quarterly journal providing an overview of topics relating to medicines development and regulation which is targeted to a wide audience of health professionals and policy makers.
- To ensure transparency and inclusivity, WHO invites members of the public and interested organizations to review the biographies of the GDG members and provide feedback.
- These include opioid agonist maintenance treatment (or OAMT) with medicines such as methadone and buprenorphine, pharmacological treatment with opioid antagonists (such as naltrexone) as well as psychosocial support.
The ATC index with DDDs
In the choice of treatment, WHO recommends OAMT to be used for most patients as the intervention with strongest evidence of effectiveness for variety of outcomes. Medicinal products containing two or more active ingredients are regarded as combinations in the ATC classification system and given different ATC codes from the product with a single component (one active ingredient). This will often give several classification alternatives and the main indication is decided by the WHO International Working Group for Drug Statistics Methodology on the basis of available literature and a qualified assumption of the most prevalent indication worldwide. The challenge occurs when a medicinal product (same strength and route of administration) is approved and used for two or more equally important indications, and the main therapeutic use differs from one country to another. For example, low strength finasteride tablets used for treatment of baldness are classified under D11AX Other dermatologicals and the high strength tablets used for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) are classified under G04C Drugs used in BPH.
In Hanoi, WHO’s collaboration provides a rosy picture of health Digital version of Essential Medicines list (eEML) launched Promoting rational use of medicines Strengthening access to essential medicines
Substandard and falsified medical products This second review of the world medicines situation (first published in 1988 as The WorldDrug Situation) presents the available evidence on global production,… This list beganwith 208 identified medicines and has grown to include 460 differentpharmaceuticals. WHO works with partners and Member States to strengthen regulation,including post-marketing surveillance, and to eliminate substandard andfalsified medicines. They are thelargest public expenditure on health after personal costs in many low-incomecountries, and the expense is a major cause of household impoverishment anddebt.
WHO updates list of drug-resistant bacteria most threatening to human health
The critical priority pathogens, such as gram-negative bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotics, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistant to the antibiotic rifampicin, present major global threats due to their high burden, and ability to resist treatment and spread resistance to other bacteria. Guidelines for the psychosocially assisted pharmacological treatment of opioid dependence (2009) In many ATC main groups, pharmacological groups have been assigned on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th levels allowing drugs with several therapeutic uses to be included, without specifying the main indication. Tanzania making steady progress in access to essential medicines and health products as new challenges emerge Although it was not designed as a global standard, the listnow acts as a guide for the procurement and supply of medicines at the nationaland local level. Universal health coverage can only be achieved when thereis affordable access to safe, effective and quality medicines and healthproducts.
WHO’s work on antimicrobial resistance For example, antibiotic-resistant Mycoplasma genitalium, which is not included in the list, is an increasing concern in some parts of the world. Despite this transition, investment in R&D and other prevention and control strategies for CRPA remains important, given its significant burden in some regions.
DDD for Children
Millennium Development Goal 8E aims for affordable access to essential medicines.Essential medicines, as defined by WHO, are those that “satisfy… This report provides a synthesis of the outcomes of the first paediatric drug optimization exercise that was held for Malaria. The PADO for epilepsy exercise aimed to support the identification of short- and long term priorities for epilepsy medicines for the paediatric age group,… WHO’s 6th Virtual cGMP Training Marathon concludes, reinforcing global manufacturing capacities Public expenditure ranges widely between nations, from under 20% of totalhealthcare costs in high-income countries to up to 66% in low-income countries. The price of medicine remains the largest impediment toaccess and the economic impact of pharmaceuticals is substantial.
- This Centre is located at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) and the main activities of the Centre are drawn up in an agreement between the WHO Headquarters and the Government of Norway.
- Since 1977, WHO has maintained a list of essentialmedicines as a means to promote health equity around the world.
- The updated BPPL incorporates new evidence and expert insights to guide research and development (R&D) for new antibiotics and promote international coordination to foster innovation.
- Psychoactive drugs are substances that, when taken in or administered into one’s system, affect mental processes, e.g. perception, consciousness, cognition or mood and emotions.
The World Medicines Situation
High prices, misuse of drugs and poor or unreliabledrug quality contribute to this issue. However, globalized trade can undermine regulation, and in resource-limited settings especially, incidence of substandard or falsified medicines is growing. Today there are thousands of drugs on the market able to prevent, treat and lessen the impact of ailments that would have been fatal just a few generations ago.
Joint UNESCO, UNODC and WHO publication on education sector responses to substance use in 2017 UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural… For enquiries, please send an e-mail to It presents a range of perspectives on how current challenges impact the manufacture, prescribing and access of medicines throughout the world and introduces newly-released guidance documents. Latest lists of proposed and recommended International Nonproprietary Names for Pharmaceutical Substances (INN) are also included. Over 3 million annual deaths due to alcohol and drug use, majority among men UN Commission approves WHO recommendations to place psychoactive substances under international control
WHO guideline on balanced national controlled medicines policies to ensure medical access and safety:…
The DDDs are allocated to drugs by the WHO Collaborating Centre in Oslo, working in close association with the WHO International Working Group on Drug Statistics Methodology. This limits comparisons of drug consumption at an international level. Drug consumption can be expressed in cost, number of units, number of prescriptions or by the physical quantity of drugs. Building on the value of the BPPL as a global tool, tailoring the list to country and regional contexts can account for regional variations in pathogen distribution and the AMR burden.
The WHO ASSIST package for hazardous and harmful substance use
These pathogens require increased attention, especially in vulnerable populations including paediatric and elderly populations, particularly in resource-limited settings. Medium priority pathogens include Group A and B Streptococci (both new to the 2024 list), Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae, which present a high disease burden. High priority pathogens, such as Salmonella and Shigella, are of particularly high burden in low- and middle-income countries, along with Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, which pose significant challenges in healthcare settings.
WHO’s role, mandate and activities to counter the world drug problem
In 2022, approximately 60 million people globally engaged in non-medical opioid use, including the use of drugs like heroin, morphine, codeine, fentanyl, methadone, tramadol, and other similar substances. Currently, WHO is convening a guideline development group (GDG) for update of both guidelines with an aim to improve availability and access to treatment of opioid dependence and reduce the number of deaths from opioid overdose by providing evidence-based recommendations on the psychosocially assisted pharmacological treatment and interventions on prevention and management of opioid overdose. WHO announces development of updated guidelines for the psychosocially assisted pharmacological treatment of opioid dependence and community management of opioid overdose Opioid agonist maintenance treatment (OAMT) for people with opioid dependence is proven to be safe and effective in addressing a broad range of health…
Access to appropriate medications is shown to have substantial impacts on community health and the related economic indicators. Universal health coverage Opioid overdose is easily reversed with the opioid antidote naloxone and with basic life… There is growing concern around the world about drug use and road safety. In 2013, an estimated 181.8 million people aged years…
Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) infection moving from critical to high priority in BPPL 2024 mirrors recent reports of decreases in global resistance. Gram-negative bacteria have built-in abilities to find new ways to resist treatment and can pass along genetic material that allows other bacteria to become drug-resistant as well. The updated BPPL incorporates new evidence and expert insights to guide research and development (R&D) for new antibiotics and promote international coordination to foster innovation.
Other high priority pathogens, such as antibiotic-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Enterococcus faecium, present unique public health challenges, including persistent infections and resistance to multiple antibiotics, necessitating targeted research and public health interventions. Evidence, including systematic reviews, about treatment of opioid dependence and management of opioid overdose will be presented to the GDG. In the guidelines on community management of opioid overdose, WHO recommends that people who are likely to witness an opioid overdose, including people who use opioids, and their family and friends should be given access to naloxone and training in its use so that they can respond to opioid overdose in an emergency. These include reduction in non-medical opioid use, mortality and morbidity (including due to opioid overdose, HIV and viral hepatitis), lowering risk of crime and incarceration, better retention in treatment, quality of life and overall wellbeing. To address the issue, WHO has published guidelines for the psychosocially assisted pharmacological treatment of opioid dependence (2009) and community management of opioid overdose (2014). While some 64 million people globally are estimated to live with drug use disorders, access to treatment remains very limited, with less than 10% having access to it.
The PDD will give the average daily amount of a drug that is actually prescribed. DDDs sometimes need to be reviewed because dosages may change over time, e.g. due to the introduction of new main indications or new research making it necessary to change the DDD. Estimating prevalence of drug use in children is not possible by using crude sales data presented in DDDs owing to the variability of children’s doses. DDDs provide a fixed unit of measurement independent of price, currencies, package size and strength enabling the researcher to assess trends in drug utilization and to perform comparisons between population groups. An operational handbook accompanies the guidelines, providing practical advice for large-scale implementation. Primarily aimed at health policymakers and National TB Programme (NTP) managers, they also support healthcare providers and technical organizations engaged in TB care.
For drugs where the recommended dosage differs for different indications (e.g. Drug Overdose Facts antipsychotics) it is important that diagnosis is linked to the prescribed daily dose given. The PDD can be determined from studies of prescriptions, medical or pharmacy records, and it is important to relate the PDD to the diagnosis on which the drug is used. DDDs are normally assigned based on use in adults.For medical products approved for use in children, the dose recommendations will differ based on age and body weight.