WHO Executive Board adopts draft decision to develop new strategy beyond 2025
9 February 2023
The Executive Board of the WHO met for their 152nd session in Geneva until 7 February and adopted a draft decision for WHO’s current Traditional Medicine Strategy to be extended until 2025 and for WHO to develop a new strategy in the meantime[1]. The draft decision is now awaiting the confirmation of the World Health Assembly in May 2023.
The People’s Declaration for Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Healthcare (TCIH Declaration), a global network of over 270 professional and patient organisations, research and research institutes warmly welcomes this decision.
“An important outcome is that stakeholders, like the TCIH Declaration, will be included in drawing up the new WHO strategy”, said Dr Tido von Schoen-Angerer from the International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations, one of the co-sponsors of the TCIH Declaration.
“The new strategy should make integration, research, regulation of practitioners and products, and the contribution to Universal Health Coverage a priority”, highlighted Knowledge Ecology International, one of the co-signatories of the TCIH Declaration, in its official statement in front of the Executive Board.
Many member states acknowledged the progress made in the implementation of the current WHO strategy and the need for traditional and complementary medicine to achieving Universal Health Coverage. “Integrating traditional and complementary medicine offers great potential and opportunity in building a more resilient and sustainable healthcare system” said Malaysia, one of the 34 members of the WHO Executive Board.
[1] Decision proposed by Bangladesh, China, Eswatini, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Türkiye