May 6, 2011

WHO takes important step, adds misoprostol to its model list of essential medicines for PPH

ACCRA, GHANA - The 18th Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines of the World Health Organization (WHO) has included misoprostol for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) on its model list of essential medicines.  Having convened on the 21 through 25 of March 2011 in Accra, Ghana to review the evidence for efficacy and safety on a host of proposed medicines, the committee published its results today which “add misoprostol to the List, for the prevention of PPH in settings where parenteral uterotonics are not available or feasible.” The Committee also decided to qualify the amendment to indicate that misoprostol is “for the management of incomplete abortion and miscarriage, and for the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage where oxytocin is not available or cannot be safely used.”

Owing to the priority placed on women’s health, misoprostol will be moved from the Complementary to the Core list. This will require governments to procure this valuable medication for the health of their population as part of the basic supplies for their health system. Many countries model their national essential medicines lists on this WHO list.

The committee's report mentioned new evidence from Gynuity Health Projects that "shows that misoprostol can be safely administered to women to prevent post-partum haemorrhage by traditional birth attendants or assistants trained to use the product at home deliveries.”

VSI President/CEO Melodie Holden shares that, “Within VSI we are elated. This is a tremendous boon for women’s health and solidifies misoprostol’s role in making childbirth safer. As co-authors of the application with Gynuity Health Projects, we are enormously proud of this accomplishment and how it will translate to lives saved around the globe.”

The complete unedited report may be found here.

Press coverage: "Health: Childbirth made safer," May 12, 2011