The World Health Organization’s (WHO) summit on traditional medicine (TM), which starts in  India’s New Delhi on Wednesday (17 December), will push for more funding for research on traditional medicine. 

WHO wants to create a stronger evidence base for TM that will help to integrate it with health systems. Around 40% of today’s pharmaceutical products are based on natural products, and several breakthrough drugs, including aspirin, derive from traditional medicine.

Meanwhile, traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) is used in 170 countries, according to a 2019 WHO report.

“Despite its widespread use and demand, less than 1% of global health research funding currently supports traditional medicine, and summit participants will discuss opportunities for stronger investment, stronger implementation and stronger impact,” said Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, Director a.i. of the Global Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar, India.

WHO’s summit is being organized in collaboration with the Indian government, and will be attended by policy makers, scientists, practitioners and indigenous leaders from over 100 countries in attendance. They will discuss ways to integrate safe and evidence-based traditional medicine (TM) into health systems in line with WHO’s Global TM strategy for 2025-2034. 

Focus on generating evidence

In most countries, between 40% and 90% of the population already uses some form of TM, according to the WHO. To bring traditional medicine into the fold of health systems, WHO has continuously reiterated that it will rely on evidence. This evidence currently exists only for some systems. 

Some Chinese medicines, for example, are approved for use in segments of the European markets as well as the US, said Dr Sung Chol Kim, WHO’s TMC Unit Head for Standards, Regulation and Integration. 

“I think this is one of the good examples that some countries are quite advanced in certain area of the traditional medicine. I think the role of the WHO should be that we encourage knowledge exchange among member countries,” he said.

Generating evidence for TM is complicated as it offers a wide range of treatments and approaches, depending on the patient and their circumstances, said Dr Sylvie Briand, WHO Chief Scientist. 

“Many traditional practices are transmitted orally rather than taught in formal schools, leading to personalized approaches that vary by healer,” she added. 

WHO’s TM roadmap for 2025-34 is a response to this challenge, she said. “It (the agenda) will guide investment, prioritize research and ensure ethical principles and human rights are respected.”

Some systems that focus on meditation and movement to improve health like India’s yoga and China’s Tai Chi have also found massive acceptance globally as complementary systems to improve health and quality of life. 

WHO experts reinforced that this is one of the other goals – to not just cure diseases but help people improve their quality of life

Facilitating understanding

India and other countries have tried to mainstream TM and its practitioners over the years, but it has not been without its challenges and tensions. 

Some practitioners of modern medicine have been bitterly opposed to the integration, and some have even gone on strike.

“Education is our top priority in order to achieve mutual understanding and mutual respect between the traditional and biomedical practice. So I think that without knowing and understanding other systems of medicine, we actually hardly achieve that mutual respect,” said Kim. 

“[For the] first time, we have a clearly defined divide between the traditional medicine, complementary medicine and integrated medicine. So it means that we are covering all those codified, uncodified systems of traditional medicine,” Kim added. 

But dubious products being sold as traditional medicine is a challenge, WHO experts acknowledged, and said that it is also on the agenda for discussion. 

A way to make healthcare holistic and affordable

WHO’s push has also sparked a discussion on TM globally. It first gained momentum earlier this year at WHO’s World Health Assembly, where the strategy on TM was approved, despite reservations from the European Union. 

At the recent World Conference of Science Journalists in South Africa’s Pretoria, a session dedicated to TM saw heated discussion. Luisa Massarani, a Brazilian science journalist, said in her country there are over 300 types of traditional medicine but they might not be codified in a way that modern medicine is. At the same time, not all the 300 types are equally effective and efficient, she said.

The WHO is attempting to begin to bridge the divide between traditional and modern medicine.

During the summit WHO is also set to launch a global library of traditional medicine. The digital library is touted to be the first such repository of 1.6 million scientific records to strengthen evidence and knowledge sharing.

“WHO is not trying to develop or evolve traditional medicine as an alternative, but as an evidence-informed contributor to universal health coverage. Our aim is to bring stronger safety, stronger science and stronger equity for traditional medicine,” said Dr Geetha Krishnan, WHO TMC Unit Head for TM Research, Data and Innovation.

Image Credits: WHO/Kalkidan Tsegaye , WHO.