Traditional knowledge meets public-health debate

WHO describes how Tu Youyou’s team used Chinese medical literature while developing artemisinin.

WHO cites traditions from Mesopotamia, India, China, Madagascar and Mexico while stressing evaluation of effectiveness.

Delegates met in Gandhinagar to discuss evidence, access and the future of traditional medicine.

The Indian government and WHO convened practitioners, researchers and policymakers.

WHO’s director-general referred to his experience of traditional practitioners in Ethiopia.

The first WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit concluded in Gandhinagar after its two-day meeting on 17–18 August 2023.

The closing date of the Gandhinagar meeting marks international discussion of evidence and health systems across diverse knowledge traditions.

Participants considered research and governance of traditional care; holding a summit did not validate every practice discussed.

The WHO summit connected traditional medicine, research and public health at an international meeting hosted in India.

A WHO regional message recognized traditional medicine’s place in African health care.