Traditional Medicine Takes Center Stage at india WHO Meeting

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The World Health Organization says traditional medicine plays a pivotal role in the health and well-being of people and the planet and should be seen as complementary to modern medicine and be integrated into national health systems.

Traditional healers have used their knowledge of plants and potions for centuries to treat people with multiple ailments. Much traditional indigenous and ancestral knowledge of traditional medicine is frequently used in health care across the world.

"We are seeing a lot of increasing demand and increasing interest in traditional medicine at the moment," said Rudi Eggers, WHO director for integrated health services. "Traditional medicine has become a global phenomenon."

He said 170 out of 194 countries have reported to WHO "that they used traditional medicine in some form, such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, yoga, and indigenous medicine in their countries. In fact, for millions of people, of course, it is the first choice for health care. In some cases, the only choice for health care."

The WHO says that around 40 percent of modern pharmaceutical products have roots in traditional medicine.

"Many traditional medicines were the basis for some of the classic scientific and medical technologies that have led to some of the major medical breakthroughs, including drugs like aspirin or artemisinin for malaria, and even smallpox inoculation," said Shyama Kuruvilla, the WHO lead for the Global Center for Traditional Medicine.

Next week, WHO is convening the Traditional Medicine Global Summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. The two-day high-level meeting will explore the role of "traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine in addressing pressing global health challenges."

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted the "important and catalytic role" traditional medicine can play in achieving the goal of universal health coverage and in meeting global health-related targets that were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.