WHO 23rd Essential Medicines List reaches 502 medicines; adds MS therapies
Dated 26 July 2023: WHO 23rd Essential Medicines List reaches 502 medicines; adds MS therapies. In the causal graph this event strengthens Access to Essential Medicines, a driver that weakens Proportion of the population with positive out-of-pocket household expenditure on health exceeding 40% of household discretionary budget, by location, quintile, type of household and characteristics of the head of household (%) — an improving welfare path.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
No public contributors are listed for this fact.
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactWHO 23rd Essential Medicines List reaches 502 medicines; adds MS therapies
- strengthensDriverAccess to Essential Medicines
- weakensIndicators (2)Proportion of the population with positive out-of-pocket household expenditure on health exceeding 40% of household discretionary budget, by location, quintile, type of household and characteristics of the head of household (%)
provisional weight · verified
Weakens · 78% impact strength (driver → indicator)
Observed
26% · 0.23 below the normal line (2022)
Better than normal5 readings, 2018–2022: fell from 26.9% to 26%.
Above normal = worse
Weakens · 71% impact strength (driver → indicator)
Observed
4.07% of people reporting a medical need · 2.57 above the normal line (2025)
Worse than normal5 readings, 2021–2025: rose from 3.8% of people reporting a medical need to 4.07% of people reporting a medical need.
Above normal = worse
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- FactWHO 23rd Essential Medicines List reaches 502 medicines; adds MS therapies
- strengthensDriverAccess to Essential Medicines
- weakensIndicatorProportion of the population with positive out-of-pocket household expenditure on health exceeding 40% of household discretionary budget, by location, quintile, type of household and characteristics of the head of household (%)
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). WHO 23rd Essential Medicines List reaches 502 medicines; adds MS therapies. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/who-eml-23rd-list-adds-ms-cancer-medicines-2023
https://factrail.ai/facts/who-eml-23rd-list-adds-ms-cancer-medicines-2023
Accessed 16 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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