Hi,
We bring you a quick update on WHO’s new expanded Essential Medicines List that was announced late last week on September 5, 2025.
The EML is both a technical tool and a political one - that has implications for not just medicines that are necessary but also who can use them and when.
Such tools from WHO are a part of its treasured deliverables for public health that normative in nature.
In this edition, we spoke with WHO experts who help us understand the list, for example, what is the significance of the “the square box” symbol for semaglutides? The explain the importance of the list, and its implications for pricing, procurement and access to drugs.
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More later.
Best,
Priti
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I. STORY OF THE WEEK
WHO Expands Essential Medicines List (EML) to Include Treatments For Diabetes Linked with Obesity; Cystic Fibrosis, and for Cancers
By Priti Patnaik
Yukta N contributed to this story
WHO has expanded its Essential Medicines List (EML) for adults and children, to address conditions for types of cancers, diabetes linked with co-morbidities such as obesity, and conditions like Cystic Fibrosis, among others. The inclusion of these treatments for such conditions in the EML, follow the prioritized health needs of populations, WHO says.
The EML, adopted in over 150 countries, serve as a basis for public sector procurement, supply of medicines, and health insurance and reimbursement schemes, according to WHO.
The updated lists are the 24th edition of WHO EML and the 10th edition of EMLc (for children), and include a total of 523 essential medicines for adults and 374 for children. This revision reflects 20 new medicines that were added to the EML and 15 to the EMLc. There were also “new use indications for seven already-listed products”, WHO explained.
The WHO Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines reviewed 59 applications, including 31 proposals for the addition of new medicines or medicine classes. (The Committee’s recommendations, describing the additions, changes and removal of medicines and formulations, and decisions not to recommend medicines can be read here.)
The committee met in May 2025 to assess the scientific evidence on each medicine’s effectiveness, safety, comparative cost, and overall cost-effectiveness to inform its recommendations. The Model Lists are updated every two years.
