Delegates at the WHO Second Global Summit on Traditional Medicine in New Delhi, where countries adopted concrete commitments under the Delhi Declaration.
Countries and partners at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Second Global Summit on Traditional Medicine have made firm commitments to scale up research, tighten regulation and mainstream proven traditional medicine into national health systems.
The commitment follows adoption of the Delhi Declaration on Traditional Medicine, and pledges agreed at the three-day summit in New Delhi from 17–19 December, 2025, in line with the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034.
WHO Research Targets Funding Gap
Under the first commitment, countries agreed to boost investment in traditional medicine research, which currently receives less than one per cent of global health research funding.
Participants pledged to back scientifically sound and ethical research, including real-world evidence, whole-systems research and Indigenous and community-based approaches, while protecting biodiversity, cultural heritage and data sovereignty.
They also committed to strengthening the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Library as a global reference point for evidence-based policy and education.
Stronger Rules to Protect Patients
A second commitment focuses on tightening regulation of traditional medicine products, practices and practitioners, by strengthening regulatory systems to ensure safety, quality and effectiveness, improve pharmacovigilance and adopt risk-based regulation.
Traditional Medicine Moves into Mainstream Care
Under the third commitment, participants agreed to integrate safe and effective traditional medicine into national health systems, especially through primary health care, to support universal health coverage.
Key actions include quality assurance, professional training, clinical guidelines, workforce development and evidence-based financing. Countries also pledged to improve data collection using WHO tools such as the ICD-11 traditional medicine modules.
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WHO Commitment on Communities
The fourth commitment places communities and Indigenous Peoples at the heart of decision-making, recognising them as custodians of traditional medicine knowledge.
Next Steps Begin in 2025
The Delhi Declaration commits countries to set clear national priorities for 2025–2027, turning global pledges into time-bound action plans, while WHO will track progress through monitoring, reporting and global dialogue, with a mid-term review planned for 2030.
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