Regional workshop on clinical research methodologies in traditional medicine for the WHO South-East Asia Region

Overview

Traditional medicine in South Asian countries has a rich heritage of usage. For millions of people in South Asia, traditional medicine represents the only available therapy for addressing health concerns. Around 80% of the world’s population rely on traditional medicine for some part of their health care. Traditional medicine is commonly individualized, varies from country to country, and is used to treat or prevent disease and chronic illness, and to improve quality of life. Traditional medicines often have a long history of use, and safety and effectiveness studies have not been part of this landscape.

Many governments have recognized the role of traditional medicine and developed national policies and strategies to protect public health and maximize the potential contribution of traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) products, practices, and providers to primary health care. Member States in the South-East Asia Region have demonstrated a continued, strong commitment to policy, law, regulation, and national infrastructure for T&CM. Ten Member States of the Region have established a national policy, programme, office, and expert committee for T&CM. The use of T&CM among populations is also strongly acknowledged in the Region.

Traditional medicine provides many potential therapeutic healing options for chronic diseases and conditions that are difficult to treat using Western medicine. However, the global acceptance of traditional medicine is hampered by the lack of research data, and Member States have expressed a high level of interest in receiving guidance for research and evaluation of T&CM related to safety, quality, and efficacy.

This regional workshop was designed to provide practical guidance on research methodology and discuss research issues and gaps. Under the technical guidance of WHO, the workshop brought together senior officials and experts in research and traditional medicine from the Member States, WHO, research and teaching institutions, and government bodies.