Adoption precedes legal entry into force

The 2004 WHO message addressed tensions between institutional medicine and inherited health practices.

Publication date: the regional message recognized traditional practitioners’ role in communities while calling for collaboration.

The updated International Health Regulations set rules for responding to cross-border public health risks.

The regulations require countries to detect and notify events with possible international consequences.

The 2005 adoption aimed to improve coordinated responses while respecting human rights.

On African Traditional Medicine Day, regional director Luis Sambo urged a stronger role for traditional health practitioners in preventing HIV.

The WHO regional message treated trusted community practitioners as possible partners in prevention communication.

The 2005 call recognized that many people visit traditional practitioners as well as clinics.

WHO’s call concerned prevention and the role of practitioners, not evidence that a traditional remedy cures HIV.

More than 60 experts began a four-day meeting on protection of African traditional medical knowledge.