African states develop oversight of traditional practitioners

The centre aimed to support research and knowledge exchange on traditional medicine.

WHO cited Ayurveda and other systems while calling for evidence-based study.

The groundbreaking was a commitment to study and policy development, not approval of every remedy.

Publication date: the African Traditional Medicine Day message said more than 40 countries had national policies, up from eight in 2000.

Publication date: WHO reported that 17 countries had frameworks to protect traditional medical knowledge and intellectual property.

Publication date: the WHO message described 34 research institutes in 26 countries focused on quality, safety and efficacy.

Bangladesh achieved elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem.

Large-scale treatment and monitoring reduced lymphatic filariasis in affected communities.

Health workers used repeated medicine campaigns in areas where the infection had circulated.

WHO validation concerns a disease no longer being a public health problem, not a claim of zero possible infection.