The WHO Model Lists of Essential Medicines are updated every two years by the Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines.
New Additions to EML
- Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease or chronic kidney disease and obesity.
- Rapid-acting insulin analogues: Type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Significance: Reduce high cost of these drug and out of pocket expenditure ultimately increasing access to such drugs.
About Diabetes and Obesity
- Diabetes occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.
- Global: Over 800 million people (2022), projected to exceed 1.3 billion (2050).
- India: 77 million people above the age of 18 years-Diabetes (type 2) and nearly 25 million are prediabetics.
- Obesity is defined by excessive fat deposits leading to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease etc.
- Global: More than doubling since 1990, and now affecting more than 1 billion.
- India: 24% of Indian women and 23% of Indian men are obese. (National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 (2019-21)).
India’s Initiatives
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