WHO Announces Plans for Essential Diagnostics List

The World Health Organization will develop an essential diagnostics list to help countries prioritize which in vitro diagnostics they offer through their national health systems.

The new list will complement the WHO’s existing Essential Medicines List and initially will include IVDs for tuberculosis, malaria, HIV, and hepatitis B and C, all of which currently have strong programs for diagnosis and management.

The list will later be expanded to include other diseases from the EML, as well as other important diseases that do not have medicinal treatments but for which diagnostics play a critical role in disease management.