The World Health Organisation (WHO) says emerging scientific tools are creating an unprecedented opportunity to rigorously evaluate and safely integrate traditional medicine into modern healthcare.
Gatekeepers News reports that speaking during a press briefing on Tuesday from Geneva, WHO experts said traditional medicine has become a “global reality”, noting that many member states now rely on it as a first or preferred form of care.
The briefing comes ahead of the second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, scheduled for December 17–19 in New Delhi, India. The summit will convene policymakers, researchers, practitioners and indigenous leaders from more than 100 countries to mobilise support for the Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, adopted by the World Health Assembly in May.
Shyama Kuruvilla, acting director of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre, described the moment as pivotal because “traditional medicine is often the closest or only care available for many people.”
According to her, demand continues to rise “due to chronic diseases, mental health needs and the push for personalised, holistic care.”
“This is really a pivotal moment to unite the wisdom and systems of millennia for healing with the power of modern science and technology to advance health for all,” she said.
Kuruvilla added that WHO’s mandate is to help countries ensure traditional medicine is “safe, evidence-informed, and equitably integrated” into national health systems.
She noted that despite its widespread use, traditional medicine receives less than one percent of global health research funding — a gap the upcoming summit aims to address by pushing for increased investment and stronger evidence generation.
At the summit, WHO will unveil several major initiatives, including a global traditional medicine library containing more than 1.6 million scientific records, a global research priority roadmap, and a traditional medicine data network aligned with the organisation’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
Sylvie Briand, WHO chief scientist, said scientific advances are helping overcome long-standing challenges in evaluating traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM), which is highly diverse and often personalised.
“Artificial intelligence, for instance, can screen millions of compounds, helping us understand the complex structure of herbal products and extract relevant constituents to maximise benefit and minimise adverse effects,” she said.
Briand added that WHO has developed a new global research agenda to strengthen priority-setting and ethical standards, stressing that investment must rise if the world is to reduce chronic disease burdens and tackle inequities in access to care.
“Together, let us embrace innovation while respecting tradition, ensuring that every approach we use is safe, effective, and accessible for all,” she said.
