Introduction
E ssential medicines are defined as those that satisfy the
health care needs of the majority of a population.[1] This
concept was defined in 1975 by the World Health Organization
(WHO), and is based on the premise that a limited list of
carefully selected medicines, will improve quality of health care,
provide cost-effective health care and better management of
medicines.
[1] The first WHO Model list of essential medicines
(EML) was published in 1977 with revisions every two years.
This model EML provides a template and serves as a guide for
countries to prepare their own lists. The seventeenth WHO
model EML published in March 2011, is proof that the concept
is still valid after nearly 34 years and continues to have many
advantages when it is used appropriately and in conjunction
with standard treatment guidelines.[2] As of now, 134 countries
in the world have their own EMLs.[2] The Government of
India, recognizing the importance of the EML, prepared and
published its first National Essential Drugs List in 1996, which
was revised in 2003 as the National List of Essential Medicines.[3]
The National List of Essential Medicines of India (NLEMI
2011) was revised recently[4] by the Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare (MOHandFW), Government of India (GOI),
in June 2011, nearly eight years after the previous list, on the
directions of the Supreme Court of India.[5]
The 2003 National List of Essential Medicines, India came in
for criticism due to errors of omission and typos.[6,7] There was a
general expectation that the present list would be better than its
predecessor[7] considering the fact that the preparation for the
list started as early as 16 September 2009.[4] Though this list has
gone through a more thorough process of revision as mentioned
in the opening pages of the document,[4] and the fact that a
large number of experts contributed to the list, the contents do
not fulfill the rigorous standards expected in a national EML.