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World Health Organization (WHO)
"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (WHO constitution).
IASP is a Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) Affiliate of the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO Access and Control Newsletter
This newsletter will update you on both issues of drug control as well as access to controlled medicines, especially if the World Health Organization is involved. Generally speaking, these issues will be any matter related to the evaluation of substances within the framework of the UN drug conventions, especially the 1961 and 1971 Conventions, and any matter related to WHO's Access to Controlled Medications Programme (ACMP). The newsletter will be published at irregular intervals.
Browse the Newsletter archives.
WHO Policy Guidelines
Guide on Estimating Requirements for Substances under
International Control 
The World Health Organization (WHO), the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), and global experts joined forces to develop a new tool to assist countries to estimate their annual requirements for narcotic drugs for medical purposes. An important treaty requirement of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is that National Competent Authorities (NCA) shall submit these estimates annually to the INCB in order to ensure that the amounts of available narcotic drugs and other psychoactive substances are limited to quantities required for medical and scientific purposes.
However, some countries do not submit these reports, or some submit estimates that are very low with no chance of meeting the medical need in their country that can be supported by their existing healthcare infrastructure. Lack of report or incorrect report can serve as one of many barriers to patient access to these medications by slowing or preventing exports of the medications into the country.
Therefore, in order to allow for increased consumption of these medications, the WHO and INCB convened a working group that drafted a new document called “Guide on Estimating Requirements for Substances under International Control.” Intended to assist NCAs in calculating the estimated requirements for controlled substances, the Guide identifies different methods, explains their potential strengths and weaknesses, and provides an overview of the major issues that need to be considered in order to apply these methods accurately.
Download this Guide from the WHO website.
Ensuring Balance in National Policies on Controlled Substances, Guidance for Availability and Accessibility for Controlled Medicines
The WHO Policy Guidelines for Controlled Substances provide guidance on policies and legislation with regards to availability, accessibility, affordability and control of medicines made from substances regulated under the international drug control conventions, herein referred to as "controlled medicines". Their scope encompasses "all controlled medicines", but with a specific focus on essential medicines.
This book elaborates on the background and then provides 21 guidelines on various topics: content of drug control legislation and policy; authorities and their role in the system; policy planning for availability and accessibility; healthcare professionals; estimates and statistics; procurement; and nationally listed drugs. Each guideline has an elucidation and a description of the legal context. The Country Assessment Checklist enables the user to determine which guidelines still need to be worked on.
Download or purchase this document from the WHO
website.
WHO Publications Written in Collaboration with IASP
Neurological Disorders: Public Health Challenges. 2006, ISBN-13 978-9-241563-36-9, 229 pages. Available for purchase at the WHO Bookstore.
There is a significant gap in knowledge of public health aspects of neurological disorders, and WHO has started to close it with “Neurological Disorders: Public Health Challenges.” IASP was invited to contribute a chapter, and working as a team, the authors have provided a concise account of an aspect of neurological disorders that tend to be poorly understood and often neglected at the level of treatment.
Contributing Authors: Michael Bond, Harald Breivik, Troels Jensen, Olaitan Soyannwo, Rolf-Detlef Treede and Willem Scholten
Cancer Pain Relief and Palliative Care in Children (Available in English, French and Spanish). 1998, ISBN-13 978-9-241545-12-9, 85 pages. Available for purchase at the WHO Bookstore.
Resources
World Health Day
Sponsored by the WHO World Health Day
WHO Collaborating Centers
www.painpolicy.wisc.edu
Regional Offices of WHO:
WHO Regional Office for Africa (AFRO)
WHO Regional Office for the Americas (AMRO)
WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO)
WHO Regional Office for Europe (EURO)
WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia (SEARO)
WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific (WPRO)
Important Links within WHO
(refer to the WHO main page at www.who.int)
- Cancer Pain Control
- Geneva International Network on Ageing – AHE
- WHO page on Ageing & Health (AHE)
- ASD Online: WHO Office of HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases
- WHO Programme on Cancer Control
- Publications of WHO Programme on Cancer Control
- WHO – NCD Chronic Rheumatic Diseases and Asthma
- WHO – NCD Cancer and Palliative Care
- Women's Health and Development
- WHO for Health Development, Kobe, Japan (in both Japanese and English)
- WHO Press Releases
- WHO Statistical Information System
- ICO – Division of Intensified Cooperation with Countries and People in greatest need