North Macedonia updates essential medicines list after 11 years

The Ministry of Health updated North Macedonia’s essential medicines list after 11 years, the ministry announced today. The previous list dated from 2015; the revision was prepared through the National Medicines Platform with input from institutions, medical experts, patient organizations and technical support from the World Health Organization (WHO).

What changed and why it matters

The ministry said the essential list identifies medicines that should be available to health workers to treat the widest possible range of diseases and serves as a guide for clinicians, the pharmaceutical sector and for drafting treatment guidelines and protocols.

According to the ministry, the new list is organized into 28 therapeutic areas and subdivided by groups and pharmaceutical forms. The update adds 109 new active substances, bringing the total to 372 medicines on the list. The revision also introduces a changed therapeutic approach and formal pathways for substituting existing medicines.

On antibiotic policy, the list now classifies antibiotics into three categories: broad-spectrum antibiotics, antibiotics under supervision, and reserve antibiotics. The ministry said this classification underpins a strategy to promote rational antibiotic use and to combat antibiotic resistance.

Health officials stressed the list will inform which medicines should be kept available in the country and which options doctors should consider when creating clinical protocols. The ministry described the update as an important public-health advancement aligned with WHO changes to its own essential medicines list.

Photo: К. Попов)