Page 168 - Traditional Medicine Systems of BIMSTEC Member States – 2023 Report

Best Practice of

India

1. Background

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We are in the 75 year of the formation of the World Health Organisation
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(WHO) and 45 year since the most aspirational declaration of Alma-Ata 1978, which
envisioned ‘Health for all’ laying the foundation for WHO’s call for ‘Universal Health

Coverage’ (UHC). However, the dream of providing equitable, affordable, accessible and
quality health care to different strata of the population still remains a challenge.

Traditional medicine is a significant part of health care system, however, its
potential is underutilised and more often underrated due to concerns over safety &

efficacy. Therefore, improving equitable access to safe, quality, and effective Traditional
T raditional Medicine Systems of BIMSTEC Member States – 2023 Report
Medicine services can potentially meet communities’ needs and can be a significant tool

for achieving SDG-3 goals and UHC (3.8), as it is the only viable option that balances
curative services with preventive promotive and rehabilitative care.

The Global Landscape of Traditional Medicine is increasingly constantly in line
with the WHO Traditional Medicine strategies and relevant World Health Assembly

resolutions. The Traditional and Complementary Medicine 2019 report (WHO, 2019)
which evaluates reporting at four-time points from 1999 to 2018, reported that the

number of member states with a national policy on traditional and complementary
medicine (T&CM) between 1999 and 2018, increased from 25 countries to 98 countries.

Countries with laws or regulations increased from 45 to 109 and countries with a
national programme for T&CM more than tripled from 23 to 79. Regulations for herbal

medicines have been formulated in most countries, with numbers growing from 65 to
124 countries between 1999 and 2018. Of all the six regions of WHO, BIMSTEC

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