Towards health and well-being for all
17-18 August 2023 | Gujarat, India
The inaugural WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, held in August 2023 in Gandhinagar, India, catalysed political commitment and collective action towards the evidence-based integration of Traditional Medicine for the health and well-being of people and the planet. Held alongside the G20 Health and Finance Ministers joint meeting, it culminated in the proclamation of the Gujarat Declaration, which summarized the evidence-informed outcomes of the Summit and influenced the development of the Global Strategy for Traditional Medicine, 2025-2034, adopted at the World Health Assembly in 2025.
*Please note that all timings are in IST.
Learning from indigenous knowledges and traditional, complementary, and integrative health systems
The action agenda launched at the first Summit prioritized key areas to advance Traditional Medicine and supported the development of the Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034. Momentum continued through WHO regional consultations on Traditional Medicine research priority-setting in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Copenhagen, Manila, Riyadh and São Paulo, and technical workshops on regulation, workforce capacity, intellectual property, equitable access benefit sharing, Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge exchange and biodiversity preservation.
Global forums including the 2024 World Conference on Traditional Medicine in Beijing, COP16 on biodiversity in Cali, the AI for Good Summit in Geneva and the World Health Summit in Berlin sustained this progress. At the same time, WHO, Member States and partners implemented prioritized Traditional Medicine workstreams aligned with the Strategy’s objectives. These advances were showcased at the second WHO Global Summit.
The Summit addressed priority areas essential to advancing Traditional
Medicine globally:
Strengthening the evidence base on safety, quality and effectiveness
Supporting policy and development regulatory frameworks
Exploring pathways for integration into health systems
Protecting biodiversity, Indigenous knowledge and equitable benefit sharing
Examining the role of innovation and digital techniques
These focus areas shaped a shared understanding of opportunities and responsibilities in advancing Traditional Medicine.
Participants joined in person, representing WHO regions across the world. The programme featured high-level dialogues, technical sessions and knowledge exchanges that showcased diverse Traditional Medicine systems and country experiences.
The Summit highlighted how Traditional Medicine contributes to holistic, people-centred sustainable approaches to health, while encouraging collaboration across disciplines and cultures.
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