WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034

This document is the official strategy published by the World Health Organization (WHO) to guide countries on how to harness the potential of traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine (TCIM) over the next decade (2025-2034). It serves as a global framework for governments, partners, and stakeholders to integrate safe, effective, and evidence-based TCIM into their national health systems.

The core message is that TCIM, when properly regulated and integrated, can play a significant role in achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by providing more people with access to a wider range of quality health services.

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Key Points and Detailed Breakdown

Here is a detailed breakdown of the strategy’s main components:

1. Vision, Goal, and Guiding Principles

• Vision: “A world in which there is universal access to safe, effective and people-centred TCIM for the health and well-being of all.”
• Goal: “To advance the contribution of evidence-based TCIM to the highest attainable standard of health and well-being.”

The strategy is built on nine guiding principles that ensure its implementation is responsible and equitable:

1. Evidence-based: All recommendations and practices must be supported by robust scientific evidence.
2. Holism and health: Recognizes the holistic nature of TCIM, focusing on the connection between mind, body, and environment.
3. Sustainability and biodiversity: Promotes the sustainable use of natural resources and protects biodiversity.
4. The right to health and autonomy: Upholds the right to health and supports individuals’ informed choices about their care.
5. Indigenous Peoples’ rights: Protects the rights of Indigenous Peoples to their traditional medicines and knowledge.
6. Culture and health: Ensures health services are culturally appropriate and respectful.
7. People-centred care and community engagement: Puts individuals and communities at the center of care.
8. Integrated health services: Advocates for the seamless coordination of TCIM with mainstream biomedical services.
9. Health equity: Aims to provide TCIM equitably, removing barriers related to income, education, ethnicity, etc.

2. Key Definitions (Glossary)

The strategy clearly defines its scope:

• Traditional Medicine (TM): Codified (e.g., Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine) or non-codified (oral traditions) health systems that pre-date biomedicine, emphasizing holistic, nature-based approaches.
• Complementary Medicine (CM): Health practices not part of a country’s mainstream medicine but used alongside it.
• Integrative Medicine (IM): A key new inclusion, defined as “an interdisciplinary and evidence-based approach to health and well-being by using a combination of biomedical and traditional and/or complementary medical knowledge, skills and practices.”
• TCIM: The umbrella term Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Medicine used throughout the document.

3. The Four Strategic Objectives

The heart of the strategy is four strategic objectives, each with two actionable “directions.”

Strategic Objective 1: Strengthen the evidence base for TCIM

• Rationale: More high-quality research is needed to prove the safety and effectiveness of TCIM.
• Direction 1.1: Facilitate high-quality research by increasing funding, establishing national research agendas, and building research capacity. Encourages the registration of TCIM clinical trials in WHO databases.
• Direction 1.2: Explore innovative research methods (e.g., using big data, AI) and optimize technology (e.g., digital health, telehealth) for TCIM.

Strategic Objective 2: Support the provision of safe and effective TCIM through appropriate regulatory mechanisms

• Rationale: Strong regulations are needed to protect the public from unsafe products and poorly trained practitioners.
• Direction 2.1: Regulate TCIM products (like herbal medicines) by establishing quality and safety standards, promoting sustainable production, and participating in international regulatory cooperation.
• Direction 2.2: Regulate TCIM practices and practitioners by setting educational standards, licensing requirements, and codes of conduct to ensure patient safety.

Strategic Objective 3: Integrate safe and effective TCIM into health systems

• Rationale: Integrating TCIM can help reorient health systems, making them more comprehensive.
• Direction 3.1: Incorporate TCIM into national health policies and frameworks. This includes government commitment and integrating TCIM education into the curricula for both TCIM and biomedical practitioners.
• Direction 3.2: Facilitate the integration of TCIM across the entire care continuum (prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, palliative care) and throughout a person’s life. This involves developing clinical guidelines, financing mechanisms, and public information.

Strategic Objective 4: Optimize the cross-sector value of TCIM and empower communities

• Rationale: TCIM’s value extends beyond health into culture, environment, and the economy.
• Direction 4.1: Include TCIM in cross-sector policies (e.g., environment, education, culture) to contribute to the “One Health” approach and the SDGs.
• Direction 4.2: Develop models to protect traditional medical knowledge from misappropriation and ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from its use, in line with international agreements. This is crucial for respecting Indigenous rights.

4. Implementation and Monitoring

• The strategy is a guide, and countries are expected to adapt it based on their national context, priorities, and capacities.
• WHO will support countries in implementation and will monitor global progress.
• A mid-term review is planned for 2030, with a final report to the World Health Assembly in 2034.

Summary

In essence, this WHO strategy is a comprehensive 10-year roadmap to move traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine from the margins to the mainstream of global healthcare. It balances innovation and evidence with respect for tradition and rights, aiming to create a world where everyone has access to a wider, safer, and more effective set of tools for managing their health and well-being.

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