The first WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit took place in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. It was held alongside the G20 health ministerial meeting, to mobilize political commitment and evidence-based action on traditional medicine, which is a first port of call for millions of people worldwide to address their health and well-being needs.

Vietnamese representatives shared the country's policies on promoting traditional medicine at the first Traditional Medicine Global Summit which took place in India from August 17-18, VNA reported.

The two-day summit, with the theme "Towards Health and Well-being for All”, explores the role of traditional complimentary and integrative medicine in addressing pressing health challenges and driving progress in global health and sustainable development.

The summit, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of India, is part of the ongoing G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting being held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat from August 17-19.

Associate Professor Dr. Vu Nam, Central Hospital of Traditional Medicine; Nguyen Thi Huong Lien, Master of Pharmacy, Sao Thai Duong Joint Stock Company and TH Group attended.

Vietnamese delegates attend the first WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit. Source: VTV

Speaking at the discussion session, Nguyen Thi Huong Lien, co-founder and vice president of Sao Thai Duong Joint Stock Company, shared some positive points in Vietnam’s policies to encourage the development of traditional medicine such as Decree 1893/QD-TTg 2019 on the traditional medicine development programme to 2030 and Circular No. 39/2021/TT-BYT 2021 of the Ministry of Health on registration of traditional medicine.

She emphazised important points in Vietnam's policies to promote innovation in traditional medicine, and made recommendations on strategic solutions.

In 2019, the Prime Minister also issued Decision 1893/QD-TTg promoting a programme on developing traditional medicine in combination with modern medicine to 2030.

The programme on developing traditional medicine in combination with modern medicine to 2030 has set the target that all provinces and centrally-run cities will have at least one traditional medicine hospital, and 95 percent of all hospitals have a traditional medicine faculty.

Nguyen Thi Huong Lien, Master of Pharmacy, Sao Thai Duong Joint Stock Company speaks at the session. Photo: VNA

For centuries, traditional and complementary medicine has been an indispensable resource for the health of people and communities. It has been at the frontiers of medicine and science laying the foundation for conventional medical texts.

Around 40% of pharmaceutical products today have a natural product basis, and landmark drugs derive from traditional medicine, including aspirin, artemisinin, and childhood cancer treatments. New research, including on genomics and artificial intelligence are entering the field, and there are growing industries for herbal medicines, natural products, health, wellness and related travel. Currently, 170 member countries have reported to WHO on the use of traditional medicine.

In response to this increased global interest and demand, WHO, with the support of the Government of India, established in March 2022 the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine as a knowledge hub with a mission to catalyse ancient wisdom and modern science for the health and well-being of people and the planet.

The WHO Traditional Medicine Centre scales up WHO’s existing capacity in traditional medicine and supplements the core WHO functions of governance, norms and country support carried out across the six regional Offices and Headquarters.

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