The vast majority of World Health Organization (WHO) member states say 40 to 90 percent of their populations now use traditional medicine, according to Shyama Kuruvilla, director of WHO’s Global Traditional Medicine Centre, established in 2022 to tap into the potential of these systems for healthcare and well-being.
“With half the world’s population lacking access to essential health services, traditional medicine is often the closest or only care available for many people,” Kuruvilla told a virtual media briefing on Wednesday, ahead of this month’s WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine.
For many others, it’s a preferred choice because it’s personalized and holistic, bioculturally aligned, and supports overall well-being rather than only treating specific disease symptoms, Kuruvilla said. Traditional medicine comprises practices and knowledge from various historical and cultural contexts that pre-date biomedicine and mainstream medical practices. It emphasizes nature-based remedies and holistic, personalized approaches to restore balance of mind, body, and environment.
Kuruvilla said global demand for traditional medicine is rising due to chronic diseases, mental health needs, stress management, and the search for meaningful care. Despite widespread use and demand, however, less than 1 percent of global health research funding currently supports it. The Second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine will take place from 17 to 19 December in New Delhi, India, and online, bringing together policy makers, practitioners, scientists, and Indigenous leaders from around the world.
Participants will discuss how to implement the WHO Global traditional medicine strategy through 2034, which aims to advance evidence-based traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine and provides guidance on regulation and multi-stakeholder collaboration.
“The Global Summit aims to foster the conditions and collaborations required for traditional medicine to contribute at scale to the flourishing of all people and our planet,” Kuruvilla said.
Simultaneously, WHO is launching a global traditional medicine library—the first-of-its-kind digital platform with over 1.6 million scientific records on the topic, a traditional medicine data network, and a Framework on Indigenous Knowledge, Biodiversity and Health, among other initiatives.
