[1] The guide has been published annually since 1986 with the World Health Organization becoming involved in 2000,[2][3] though has not been updated since 2015.
[4] The prices in the guide are specifically for low and middle income countries (LMIC).
Buyer prices come from a government agency's competitive (domestic or international) bidding or tendering process.
The prices generally do not include transportation or insurance costs, and an additional handling fees may be charged by some suppliers.
An MPR of 2 means the local health service is paying twice as much as the international reference price.
The basket prices are ideally drawn from countries in the same global region and similar economy.
[8]: 300–303 In addition to prices, most products in the guide have a defined daily dose (DDD) and ATC code.