Objectives and organization of this report

The aim of this report is to compare, contrast and synthesize country experience in dmg regulation on the basis of data collected in 1998-1999 in the 10 countries which participated in the WHO multicountry study on effective dmg regulation. 

While data collected about dmg regulation at a fixed point in time are static, dmg regulation itself is highly dynamic. Dmg regulatory functions are performed in response to a changing environment. This means that the current dmg regulation systems in some participating countries may now differ from the system in operation at the time of data collection. 

This work does not aim to rank the countries under study against any criteria. Rather, its purpose is to synthesize their experiences and draw generic conclusions from which other countries may learn. 

This work does not intend to prescribe ready-made strategies for dmg regulation. Instead, it has broader aims, namely to  

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