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In November 2008, attendees at the first-ever World Health Organization (WHO) Congress on Traditional Medicine adopted the Beijing Declaration. Heralded as the most significant outcome of the Congress, the Declaration promotes the safe and effective use of traditional medicine (TM), while guiding and supporting its integration into national healthcare systems around the world. "The Declaration may be World Health Organization's most significant initiative on traditional medicine to date", said Ryan Abbott, a researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Center for EastWest Medicine, who attended the Congress as a member of the WHO Secretariat and is a former member of WHO's TM team (oral communication, May 8, 2009). "More than ever now, many countries are promoting progressive policies towards alternative medicine. I don't think you would have seen something like the Declaration 10 years ago". The Declaration suggests for the governments of WHO Member States to do the following: • respect, preserve, promote, and communicate TM; • create national policies, regulations, and standards within the national health system to ensure safe and effective use of TM; • integrate TM into national health systems; • further develop TM based on the "Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation, and Intellectual Property", adopted at the 61st World Health Assembly in 2008; • establish systems for the qualification, accreditation, or licensing of TM practitioners; • strengthen communication between conventional and TM providers and establish training programs for health professionals, medical students, and researchers.

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2010-04-07   |   1,044 visitas   |   Evalua este artículo 0 valoraciones

Vol. 15 Núm.1. Enero-Marzo 2010 Pags. Rev Cubana Plant Med 2010; 15(1)