Health ministers and policymakers from the 11 member states of the WHO South-East Asia Region yesterday discussed ways to integrate traditional medicines from countries of the region into their national healthcare systems.
The ministers attending the 67th session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia in the capital reviewed the updated WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023 and discussed how to harness the traditional medicine framework to help achieve universal health coverage.
“Traditional medicine practitioners remain the primary healthcare providers for millions of people in South-East Asia, especially in rural areas”, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia Region.
“To ensure that people are receiving quality traditional medicines in a safe and affordable way, it is important to hold these practices to rigorous standards to ensure that there is regulation of practice, product and practitioners,” she said.
“If appropriately integrated into the existing health systems, traditional medicines can play an important role in achieving universal health coverage,” she added.
In order to meet the increasing demand for and improve the quality, safety and efficacy of traditional medicine, WHO launched the Traditional Medicine Strategy: 2014-2023 with a three-pronged objective: to build a knowledge base and formulate national policies; to strengthen the safety, quality and effectiveness of traditional medicines through regulation; and to support Universal Health Coverage through appropriate integration of traditional medicine services and self-health care into national health-care systems.
Meanwhile, the WHO stressed the need for a comprehensive and coordinated response to address the challenges of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) in its South-East Asia Region.
This was an initiative launched by the Ministry of Health, with support from the WHO, at a side event held during the 67th session. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina was the chief guest at the event.
