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The People's Declaration for Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Healthcare
For a person-centered and holistic approach to healthcare.
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The People’s Declaration calls for the respectful collaboration between traditional, complementary and biomedical practices with the aim of achieving a person-centred and holistic approach to health. The healthcare we want focuses on the whole person, is participative, respects individual choices as well as cultural diversity and integrates clinical experience and patient values with the best available research information. Full access to traditional, complementary and integrative healthcare should be part of the right to health.
The People's Declaration for Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Healthcare
Definitions
Traditional, complementary and integrative healthcare (TCIH) refers to the respectful collaboration between various systems of healthcare and their health professionals with the aim of offering a person-centred and holistic approach to health.
The healthcare we desire
- Focuses on the whole person in its physical, mental, social and spiritual dimensions
- Is patient-centred and supports self-healing and health creation
- Is participative and respects individual choices
- Is evidence-based by integrating clinical experience and patient values with the best available research information
- Respects cultural diversity and regional differences
- Is an integral part of community and planetary health
- Uses natural and sustainable resources that are respectful of the health of our planet
- Integrates traditional, complementary and biomedical practices in a supportive and collaborative manner
Benefits & limitations
We appreciate the benefits of conventional / biomedicine. At the same time, we recognise its limitations including:
- The insufficient therapeutic options that conventional medicine provides, especially for chronic / Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)
- Frequent side effects of biomedical treatments and rising antimicrobial resistance
- Fragmentation of care from increased specialisation and the limits of a disease-based model
Inspirations and concerns
We are inspired by countries that are successfully integrating TCIH into their healthcare systems. However, we are concerned about:
- Countries that halt, limit or undervalue the practice of TCIH
- Uninformed or unbalanced media reporting of TCIH
- Insufficient public funding of TCIH research
- Risk of reduced availability to TCIH and unregulated practices in some countries
Our call to action
All countries:
- Ensure full access to TCIH as part of the right to health
- Include TCIH into national health systems
- Provide accreditation of TCIH healthcare practitioners in accordance with international training standards to ensure high quality care
- Ensure access and safety of TCIH medicines through specific regulatory pathways
- Fund research on TCIH and disseminate reliable information of TCIH to the public
All healthcare professionals:
- Foster respectful collaboration between all healthcare professions towards achieving a person-centered and holistic approach to healthcare
All media and publications:
- Ensure accurate and fair reporting on TCIH