ArticlePloS one2014
Selection of essential medicines for diabetes in low and middle income countries: a survey of 32 national essential medicines lists.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Checklists for Assessing Skills of Children With Type 1 Diabetes on Insulin Injection Technique.Journal of diabetes science and technology · 2022Pooled it
- Type 5 diabetes as a growing malnutrition driven health crisis in low and middle income countries.Journal of diabetes and metabolic disorders · 2025Article
- Economic assessment of potential changes to essential medicines for diabetes in Uganda.PloS one · 2025Article
- Barriers to access to antihypertensive medicines: insights from the HEARTS initiative in latin American and Caribbean region.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2024Article
- [Concordance between essential medicines lists and diabetes guidelines in Latin America and the CaribbeanConcordância entre as listas de medicamentos essenciais e diretrizes para diabetes na América Latina e no Caribe].Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2024Article
- Treatment patterns and glycated haemoglobin levels over 36 months in individuals with type 2 diabetes initiating second-line glucose-lowering therapy: The global DISCOVER study.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2023Observational
- Amelioration of hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in a high-fat diet-fed mice by supplementation of a developed optimized polyherbal formulation.3 Biotech · 2022Article
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- The availability of essential medicines for diabetes at health facilities in Bangladesh: evidence from 2014 and 2017 national surveys.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- The availability of essential medicines for cardiovascular diseases at healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income countries: The case of Bangladesh.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- Inappropriate intensification of glucose-lowering treatment in older patients with type 2 diabetes: the global DISCOVER study.BMJ open diabetes research & care · 2021Observational
- Article
- Selection of WHO-recommended essential medicines for non-communicable diseases on National Essential Medicines Lists.PloS one · 2019Article
- Global burden of hypoglycaemia-related mortality in 109 countries, from 2000 to 2014: an analysis of death certificates.Diabetologia · 2018Article
- The global intellectual property ecosystem for insulin and its public health implications: an observational study.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2017Article
- Diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa - from policy to practice to progress: targeting the existing gaps for future care for diabetes.Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy · 2017Review
- Assessing evidence of inequalities in access to medication for diabetic populations in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.Global health actionReview
- Designing the Free Drugs List in Nepal: A Balancing Act Between Technical Strengths and Policy Processes.MDM policy & practiceArticle
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimDiabetes is a growing burden especially in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Inadequate access to diabetes care is of particular concern and selection of appropriate diabetes medicines on national essential medicines lists (NEMLs) is a first step in achieving adequate access. This selection was studied among LMICs and influences of various factors associated with selection decisions were assessed.
methodsCountries were studied if they employed NEMLs for reimbursement or procurement purposes. Presence and number of essential diabetes medicines from different classes, both insulins and oral blood glucose lowering medicines, were surveyed and calculated. Data were also analyzed by country income level, geographic region, year of last update of the NEML and purpose of NEML employment. The effect of prevalence and burden of disease on the number of essential diabetes medicines was also studied. Non parametric tests and univariate linear regression analysis were used.
resultsNearly all countries (n = 32) had chosen fast (97%) and intermediate acting insulin (93%), glibenclamide and metformin (100% both) as essential medicines. The median number of essential diabetes medicines was 6, equally divided between insulins and oral medicines. 20% of the countries had selected insulin analogues as essential medicines. Among all the studied factors, an increase in burden of diabetes and wealth of countries were associated with selection of higher numbers of essential diabetes medicines (p = 0.02 in both cases).
conclusionsNearly all the studied LMICs had included the minimum required medicines for diabetes management in their NEMLs. Selection can still be improved (e.g. exclusion of insulin analogues and replacement of glibenclamide by gliclazide). Nevertheless, the known suboptimal and inconsistent availability of essential diabetes medicines in LMICs cannot be explained by inadequate selection of essential medicines. Countries should therefore be encouraged to give precedence to implementation of NEMLs to make essential diabetes medicines more accessible.
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