In 2016, WHO developed an innovative multi-language tool to rapidly collect and analyze data on the price and availability of medicines in health facilities and procurement centers - WHO Essential Medicines and Health Products Price and Availability Monitoring Mobile Application (WHO EMP MedMon). Based on elements of the well-respected WHO/HAI methodology for “Measuring medicine prices, availability, affordability and price components”, WHO EMP MedMon App allows users to routinely monitor medicines’ prices and availability in a sustainable, cost-effective, and timely manner, regardless of the users’ access to internet or cellular data. The tool is designed to avoid duplication of efforts and potential manual entry errors which happen when data are collected on paper and then transferred to an electronic format.
Recent MedMon implementations
- Sri Lanka (2019)
Sri Lanka recently implemented MedMon to evaluate adherence and effect of their national price control policies in private pharmacies. - Rapid Assessment in Health Emergencies (2018)
In collaboration with the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, WHO MedMon was used to rapidly assess access to medicines in the Grade 3 Bangladesh - Rohingya crisis.
Early Pilots
WHO tested the application in several pilots, collecting several types of price and availability data:
Pilot I (2016): In collaboration with the WHO Department for the Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, 19 capital cities of low- and middle-income countries collected availability data on products from a variety of therapeutic groups and prices of the cheapest products available to a patient at the time of the survey.
Pilot II (2017): In collaboration with the WHO Department for the Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, three countries assessed the availability data on medicines for non-communicable diseases and prices of the cheapest products available to a patient at the time of the survey.
Pilot III (2017): In collaboration with the WHO Secretariat for Antimicrobial Resistance, two capital cities of low- and middle-income countries collected availability data on antibiotics, including duration of product stockouts, and prices of the cheapest products available to a patient at the time
Pilot IV (2018): To assess pricing policy interventions, 3 countries are currently collecting availability data on products from a variety of therapeutic groups and prices of all unique products available to a patient at the time of the survey, as well as information about product brand names, countries of manufacturer, procurement prices and wholesale prices.
Pilot V (2018): In collaboration with the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, WHO EMP MedMon is currently being used to rapidly assess access to medicines in the Grade 3 Bangladesh - Rohingya crisis.
For more information on WHO EMP MedMon, please contact: