List of Essential Drugs in Cameroon and Their Prices WHO 2023 PDF

Essential drugs in Cameroon are used in all healthcare facilities or hospitals within the Cameroonian health system.

Though these medications are available in public hospitals within the country, the drugs may also be purchased from pharmacies in Cameroon. Some are prescription-only drugs such as antibiotics, and some classes of analgesics ( for example, opioids like tramadol).

What are Essential Drugs or Medicines?

Essential drugs or medicines are those pharmaceutical products that satisfy the priority healthcare needs of the population. They are selected with meticulous regard to evidence on efficacy and safety, disease prevalence, and comparative cost-effectiveness.

The concept of essential drugs was first designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the 1970s. This enabled WHO member states to cope with the proliferation of drugs on the market and provide rational management of medicines.

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Examples of Essential Drugs

Anesthetics, preoperative medicines, and medical gases.
Medicines for pain and palliative care; Injections or tablets.
Antiallergics and medicines used in anaphylaxis.
Antidotes and other substances that are used in poisonings.
Anticonvulsants/antiepileptics.
Anti-infective medicines (Antibiotics)
Antimigraine medicines.

Essential drugs can efficiently treat a wide range of medical pathologies in a given region. This concept has recently been extended to reagents for medical devices and medical analysis. The emergence of these drugs has greatly improved the pharmaceutical industry in Cameroon.

The first edition of the National List of Essential Medicines in Cameroon was developed in 1992 based on the first WHO list.

Furthermore, the National List of Essential Medicines for Cameroon was revised numerously in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2015, and 2017.