Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 18th Aug. World health agency on Thursday convened the first global Traditional Medicine Summit got underway this week in Gandhinagar India focused on sharing evidence and best practices in this field.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking at the event underscored the “enormous” contributions of traditional medicine to human health and its understanding of the “intimate links” between health and the environment.
Tedros stressed the importance of the gathering for “bringing together ancient wisdom and modern science for the health and well-being of people and planet”.
He echoed the words of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that traditional medicine is not opposed to modern medicine, but rather complementary.
Mr. Tedros recalled that traditional medicine was “as old as humanity itself.”
He noted that many modern drugs trace their roots to ancient healing practices.
Mr. Tedros reiterated the example of bark from the willow tree, used by Sumerians and Egyptians as a pain reliever and an anti-inflammatory over 3,500 years ago.
“Then in 1897, the chemist Felix Hoffmann synthesized aspirin and the drug has gone on to improve, and save, the lives of millions of people every day,” Tedros said.
He cited a 1971 breakthrough for malaria remedies, when China’s Tu Youyou read about the use of sweet wormwood to treat fevers in traditional Chinese medical literature. This led her team to isolate the compound artemisinin, which has become the “backbone” of malaria treatment.
Tedros insisted that far from being a thing of the past, traditional medicine is the object of growing demand worldwide.
He highlighted its importance for mental health, healthy aging, and preventing and treating non-communicable diseases.
“This is not a new area for WHO”, he said, recalling that back in 2014, the organisation’s Member States approved the first global ten-year strategy for traditional medicine, adding that a new strategy will be developed by 2025.
The Summit and the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine launched in Jamnagar last year.
Mr. Tedros said that the agency has been working to “inform policies, standards and regulations for the safe, cost-effective, and equitable use” of traditional remedies.
He urged countries to examine how best to incorporate traditional and complementary medicine into their health systems and “unlock [its] power through science and innovation”.
Tedros said that the Gujarat Declaration, which is expected to be adopted by the end of the summit, has the potential to enhance the “appropriate integration” of traditional medicine into states’ healthcare services.
WHO wrote on the social platform X that their work aimed to bring evidence and scientific validation around traditional medicine so that millions of people around the world who use it understand whether it’s safe and effective and are better protected.
The agency stated that “When scientifically validated, traditional medicine has the potential to bridge healthcare access gaps for millions around the world.”
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