India to host first WHO global summit on traditional medicine in Gandinagar

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will be at the summit along with G20 Health Ministers and scientists, practitioners of traditional medicine and health workers, the organisation said.

"Bringing traditional medicine into the mainstream of healthcare -- appropriately, effectively, and above all, safely based on the latest scientific evidence -- can help bridge access gaps for millions of people around the world," he said.

An aim of the summit is to enhance scientific rigour in traditional medicine, according to WHO.

The summit will look for methodologies to develop a global research agenda and set priorities in traditional medicine, it said.

"Advancing science on traditional medicine should be held to the same rigorous standards as in other fields of health," said John Reeder, WHO's Director for Research and Health.

"This may require new thinking on the methodologies to address these more holistic, contextual approaches and provide evidence that is sufficiently conclusive and robust to lead to policy recommendations," he added.

WHO said, "Natural doesn't always mean safe, and centuries of use are not a guarantee of efficacy; therefore, scientific method and process must be applied to provide the rigorous evidence required for the recommendation of traditional medicines in WHO guidelines."