Press Release
Multiple Sclerosis Coalition Applauds World Health Organization Decision
Decision to add MS treatments to Essential Medicines List will improve
access globally
Washington, DC,
Recently, the World Health Assembly
adopted the Intersectoral Global Action Plan on epilepsy and other neurological
disorders, making brain health a global priority for the World Health
Organization (WHO). With approximately 2.8 million people worldwide facing a
high risk of disability and need for healthcare resources, MS is clearly a
global health issue. The MS Coalition applauds the WHO’s inclusion of MS
disease modifying treatments (DMTs) on the Essential Medicines List (EML) as
part of its commitment to brain health. This decision is an important step to
increasing worldwide access to life-changing medications. Affordable access to
DMTs is essential for all people with MS and aligns with the Coalition’s
mission to improve the quality of life for those affected by MS. While there
are far more DMTs available in some parts of the world, the inclusion of these
DMTs on the EML list is a significant action towards equitable access around
the world.
The EML list provides options for personalized treatment
for each person’s disease course and individual circumstance by including DMTs
with a range of efficacy, route of administration and monitoring requirements.
The Coalition recognizes that while the United States has numerous FDA-approved
DMTs available, off-label DMTs can also be an important intervention for
disease modification and may be more readily available and affordable in other
health systems, especially in low-resource settings. The Coalition thanks the
Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) for leading this critically
important work.
Member organizations of the MS Coalition are: Accelerated
Cure Project, the Consortium of MS Centers, Can Do Multiple Sclerosis, the
International Organization of MS Nurses, Multiple Sclerosis Association of
America, Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society,
United Spinal Association, and MS Views & News.
Find the Multiple Sclerosis
Coalition online at http://ms-coalition.org
About
the Multiple Sclerosis Coalition
The Multiple Sclerosis Coalition
was founded in 2005 by three independent multiple sclerosis organizations in an
effort to work together to benefit individuals with MS. Since that time, the
MSC has grown to nine member organizations, all of whom provide critical MS
programs and services. The Multiple Sclerosis Coalition’s mission is to
increase opportunities for cooperation and provide greater opportunity to
leverage the effective use of resources for the benefit of the MS community.
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