Improved access to essential medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and devices for primary health care

The Secretariat will support countries to: adapt norms, standards and guidance on the quality, safety and efficacy of health products, essential medicines and diagnostics lists to national contexts; and build capacity to implement the relevant guidance and standards. In producing global public health goods, the Secretariat will: allocate and issue international nonproprietary names to facilitate the identification of active pharmaceutical substances; develop, review and update model lists of essential health products, including essential medicines; essential in vitro diagnostics; and assistive technology products, such as medicines for noncommunicable diseases, primary health care and emergency services; develop and update the international pharmacopoeia and international chemical reference standards that are adopted by WHO expert committees in order to harmonize the quality specifications of pharmaceuticals; develop and maintain guidelines for the Biowaiver List in order to provide information on how to show that a multisource (generic) pharmaceutical is interchangeable in terms of its quality, efficiency, safety and therapeutic equivalence to the original product; develop strategies for the selection and management of blood products and organ replacement therapies; provide guidance for the appropriate, rational and safe use of medical products, vaccines, medical devices and assistive technology; and develop policies and guidelines on improving the governance and stewardship of health products, including the delivery of pharmaceutical services.