[e-drug] outdated WHO emergency kit

e-drug
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E-DRUG: outdated WHO emergency kit
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Dear E-drug,

In the document received from E-drug on thursday I found:

For the composition of the WHO Emergency Health kit see:
http://www.who.int/medicines/library/par/new-emergency-health-kit/nehk98_en.pdf

When opening this website you will find WHO emergency kit description dated 1998 with literature and recommendations going back to the nineties.

When it comes to fever it assumes that it may be malaria. For malaria treatment Chloroquine is being recommended.
This is strange. It has been banned everywhere.

1. Why is this booklet not updated?
2. Why is the kit not adapted to modern therapies.?
3. Why is chloroquine still being recommended?
4. Why do Artesunate based Combination Therapies (ACT's) not receive a place in such a kit?

Best regards,

Dr. F.H. Jansen
30 Witte Bremlaan
2360 Oud-turnhout
Belgium
Fhjansen@skynet.be

[Fair point on chloroquine; ACT is now in most countries the recommended therapy for malaria - even though we have a global production shortage.

Maybe WHO should make an update of the emergency kit also an agenda point for the WHO Expert Committee on Essential Medicines? Their next meeting is in March 2005. WB]

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E-DRUG: outdated WHO emergency kit (2)
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Dear colleagues,

As I am very much involved with the revision of the NEHK98, I should let
you know that the revised kit does not contain chloroquine. You may note
that there was a qualification to say the kit was under revision, in fact,
I would say revised. The point is however valid that a revision is
justified and to request when the new kit will become operational. I am
sure my colleague at WHO will give more details.

This is another very good indication of the usefulness of e-drug:
colleagues get the information, they assess it, and respond professionally!

Murtada M. Sesay
Technical Officer (Pharmaceuticals)
UNICEF Supply Division
Tel: +45 3527 3098
Mobile: +45 28 23 28 07
E-mail: msesay@unicef.org
Web: www.unicef.org/supply

[Thanks, Murtada! Awaiting info from WHO on the new new emergency health kit... WB]

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E-DRUG: outdated WHO emergency kit (4)
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Dear e-drug,

Am surprised that some of my colleaques think that
because chloroquine has been banned in their
countries, for whatever reason, it is also or must be
banned in all countries of the world. In Nigeria and i
believe in many developing countries, the most
affordable and luckily one of the most effective
antimalarial agent is still chloroquine. We may
therefore do well to take these differences into
consideration when making generalised statements on
global issues.

Martins Emeje
Research Fellow
Nat.Inst. for Pharm Res. and Devt.
Abuja,
Nigeria
martinsemeje@yahoo.com