How the WHO Essential Medicines List Works

Logosofia no Dia a Dia · Sep 10, 2026 · 38m

In 1977, eight experts locked themselves in a room in Geneva for five days and produced a 36-page booklet that sold out in three months. That booklet became the WHO Essential Medicines List — and today it's the starting point for what over 150 countries stock in their public clinics, reimburse through national insurance, and import duty-free. This episode traces the list from its secretive origins (the committee deliberately refused to publish its reasoning) to its current radically transparent process, digs into the 2002 rule change that turned it into a price negotiation lever for HIV…