Health products policy and standards

Our team provides authoritative guidance and standards on quality, safety and efficacy of health products and supports countries to formulate evidence-based policies and ensure good practice throughout the value chain.

About us

Highlights

A person dressed in medical and protective clothing works in a medical lab.

Events

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13 – 17 October 2025

Fifty-ninth meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations

Access to Medicines and Health Products (MHP)

14 – 17 October 2025

81st INN Consultation

14 October 2025 09:00 – 10:30 UTC Time

INN Session with INN stakeholders

20 – 24 October 2025

Forty-eighth Expert Committee on Drug Dependence

News

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13 June 2025

Departmental update

mRNA Technology Transfer Programme’s Phase 2.0 discussed with partners on the sidelines of G20 Summit

26 May 2025

Departmental update

WHO unveils new guideline to improve global access to controlled medicines

17 May 2025

Departmental update

WHO advances access and equity at the UN Commission on Population and Development

Calls for

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24 June 2025

Call for submissions

Public notice and comments on the Technical Advisory Group on the use of digital technologies to enhance access to assistive technology

2 May 2025

Call for consultation

Call for public consultation - Defining the term “diagnostics”

2 May 2025

Call for experts

Call for Experts - Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Medical Devices (STAG MEDEV)

Expert Committees

Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines

Expert Committee on Biological Standardization

Expert Committee on Drug Dependence

Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Preparations (ECSPP)

Advisory groups

Advisory Group for Blood Regulation, Availability and Safety

Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on In Vitro Diagnostics (SAGE IVD)

Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Medical Devices (STAG MEDEV)

Technical Advisory Group of Experts on Assistive Technology

Technical Advisory Group on Pricing Policies for Medicines (TAG-PPM)

WHO Technical Advisory Group on the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool

Databases

Antibiotic characterization (AWaRe)

Assistive Technology Data Portal

ATC/DDD Index

International Pharmacopoeia

Model list of Essential Medicines

National Essential Medicines Lists

Model list of in Vitro Diagnostics

Priority Medical Devices Information System

ECDD Information repository

Publications

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Blood transfusion is a vital component of modern health care and can be life-saving in many clinical situations. However, it is not without risks, including...

WHO guideline on balanced national controlled medicines policies to ensure medical access and safety: rapid communication

WHO recommends that essential medicines, including those that are controlled, be available to all patients at all times at a price that the individual...

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Guidance on implementing patient blood management to improve global blood health status

Incorporating expertise from peers working in countries where health care faces extreme resource constraints, attention is paid to how PBM processes...

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The first issue of volume 39 for 2025 includes:Consultation Documents: - "Aminosalicylate sodium dihydrate (aminosalicylatum natricum dihydricus)"- "Aminosalicylate...

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