{"id":460163,"date":"2025-12-20T14:18:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-20T14:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/460163\/"},"modified":"2025-12-20T14:18:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-20T14:18:14","slug":"a-potential-treasure-trove-world-health-organization-to-explore-benefits-of-traditional-medicines-global-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/460163\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A potential treasure trove\u2019: World Health Organization to explore benefits of traditional medicines | Global health"},"content":{"rendered":"

From herbalists in Africa gathering plants to use as poultices to acupuncturists in China using needles to cure migraines, or Indian yogis practising meditation, traditional remedies have increasingly being shown to work, and deserve more attention and research, according to a World Health Organization<\/a> official.<\/p>\n

A historical lack of evidence, which has seen traditional practices dismissed by many, could change with more investment and the use of modern technology, according to Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, who leads the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre.<\/p>\n

Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, Director of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre. Photograph: Lindsay Mackenzie\/WHO<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, countries agreed the WHO should adopt a new global traditional medicines strategy<\/a> for the next decade that \u201cseeks to harness the potential contribution of TCIM [traditional, complementary and integrative medicine] to health and wellbeing based on evidence\u201d.<\/p>\n

It includes plans to establish a robust evidence base for traditional medicine practices, develop regulation of treatments and practitioners and, where appropriate, integrate the practices into mainstream biomedical healthcare.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s super-exciting,\u201d says Kuruvilla. \u201cI\u2019m not saying we know what works and what doesn\u2019t work at scale \u2013 but I think there\u2019s this opportunity [to find out] right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Traditional medicine, defined as systems for health and wellbeing that predate \u201cbiomedicine\u201d, comes in many guises ranging from herbal tea to India\u2019s Ayurvedic medical system.<\/p>\n

Many of these centuries-old practices have \u201chuge potential\u201d, says Kuruvilla, and can now be explored in new ways by technologies including artificial intelligence, genomics and brain scans.<\/p>\n

Kuruvilla says Thailand is a good example of a country embracing traditional medicine, with researchers observing and documenting traditional practice, and performing randomised trials to get herbal treatments on to the country\u2019s essential medicines list. In May, Thailand\u2019s health ministry recommended doctors switch from some biomedicines to traditional remedies<\/a> for certain conditions including muscle pain and constipation.<\/p>\n

Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) on sale in Bangkok, Thailand. The plant has been used in traditional medicine for centuries and was legalised in 2021. Photograph: Narong Sangnak\/EPA<\/p>\n

There have been some concerns that the WHO strategy could create a backdoor for unscientific systems such as homeopathy to enter the mainstream but Kuruvilla points out that homeopathy does not fit the WHO\u2019s definition of traditional medicine \u2013 it was only created in the late 18th century \u2013 and that there is not strong enough evidence for the practice.<\/p>\n

But, she says: \u201cWith all of these \u2013 with biomedicine, homeopathy, traditional medicine \u2013 if the evidence changes, I think it\u2019s our responsibility to be open to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In some countries homeopathy is used as a complementary medicine \u201cand that\u2019s up to the countries\u201d, Kuruvilla says. \u201cWe have to, as WHO, just stick to the evidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think that\u2019s our bottom line: is this supported by robust reliable evidence, especially on safety and efficacy? And if it\u2019s not, WHO is not supporting it, whether it is biomedicine or traditional medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not engaging wasn\u2019t an option, because that would mean everything goes on without any safeguards<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dr Shyama Kuruvilla<\/p>\n

WHO surveys<\/a> suggest that in most countries, the majority of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine services are not part of the formal health system and are paid for by patients. They are less likely to be subject to official quality checks but are hugely popular.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot engaging wasn\u2019t an option, because that would mean everything goes on without any safeguards,\u201d Kuruvilla says, pointing to a burgeoning trillion-dollar wellness industry ranging from yoga studios to \u201cnutraceuticals<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

The opening ceremony of the second WHO global summit on traditional medicine in New Delhi, India, on 17 December. Photograph: CBAS Films\/WHO<\/p>\n

New methods let scientists study traditional medicine \u201cin a way that wasn\u2019t possible before\u201d, Kuruvilla says. Genomics might prompt new understanding of the properties of a plant, while modern scanning equipment can pick up changes in the brains of people meditating.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeditation was all this \u2018woo-woo stuff\u2019 but now, seeing all these advances in neuroscience and showing changes in brain waves from functional magnetic resonance imaging, which we couldn\u2019t do before \u2013 actually being able to trace the pathways that lead to changes in health measurements \u2013 I think this is really, really exciting,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

A new WHO strategic technical advisory group for traditional medicine was launched this week at a global summit in India. \u201cThis is a pivotal moment for traditional medicine. It embodies cultural heritage and national health identities, and increasingly, it constitutes a vital component of primary health care strategies,\u201d Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO\u2019s assistant director-general for health system, access and data, told the summit.<\/p>\n

The idea, Kuruvilla suggests, is to \u201cbuild a bridge\u201d between traditional medicine and biomedicine. It is important to \u201cfind commonalities\u201d, she says. \u201cShowing that the science can be robust is really, really important, and especially on the patient safety aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Traditional medicine has the potential to be a \u201ctreasure trove\u201d, Kuruvilla says. The vast numbers of people working in the field \u2013 including university-educated professionals accredited to work in clinics in China and India \u2013 could ease global workforce shortages and make a \u201chuge contribution\u201d to universal health coverage, she says.<\/p>\n

Staff prepare traditional herbal medicine at a hospital in Tongren, China. Photograph: CFOTO\/Future Publishing\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

In the context of aid cuts forcing countries to rethink health provision, traditional medicine could be \u201ca way for countries also to be more self-reliant and then share those resources with each other\u201d.<\/p>\n

The risk of failing to invest, she says, is leaving people unable to access their preferred type of healthcare in a safe way and \u201cthe world not being able to use our shared heritage here in a way that allows us to find new holistic solutions for health and wellbeing of people and planet\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From herbalists in Africa gathering plants to use as poultices to acupuncturists in China using needles to cure…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":460164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[210,1060,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-460163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-medication","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}