Integrating traditional and complementary medicine into health systems: social, economic and health considerations

Overview

Traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) is an important and often underestimated health care resource. It has strong potential for preventing and managing lifestyle-related chronic diseases – a key challenge facing the conventional health care system. Several World Health Organization (WHO) resolutions and the Astana Declaration adopted in 2018 at the Global Conference on Primary Health Care refer to T&CM. They state that the success of primary health care will be driven by extending access to a range of health care services, including traditional medicines.