More than 80% of the world’s population relies on traditional medicine — yet until now, there’s been no global framework to guide its integration into modern health systems. That changed last month at the World Health Assembly, where World Health Organization member states adopted a long-awaited strategy to bring traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine, or TCIM, into the mainstream — while navigating deep divisions over how to balance cultural respect with scientific rigor.
These divisions were evident in the final text, which strikes a careful balance between meeting the standards of evidence-based science and respecting traditional knowledge handed down over thousands of years. The strategy affirms WHO’s support for “personalized care” and cultural preferences, while also making clear that it “consistently refutes any claims that are not supported by scientific evidence.”
Some member states felt that “the exact same regulation method should be applied to traditional medicine than to any other medicine,” said Rudi Eggers, director of integrated health services at WHO. “And other member states, of course, felt almost exactly opposite.”
About the author
Catherine Davison
Catherine Davison is an independent journalist based in Delhi, India, writing on issues at the intersection of health, gender, and the environment.
