Restoring balance: Traditional Medicine at the World Health Summit Regional Meeting 2025

The next World Health Organization (WHO) Traditional Medicine Global Summit, 2–4 December 2025, was unveiled during a keynote plenary session at the World Health Summit Regional Meeting 2025 in New Delhi, India, on 25 April. The session, organized by the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre, brought together government ministers, private sector directors, scientists and United Nations leaders to explore how combining ancient wisdom and modern science can expand access to safe, effective and people-centred Traditional Medicine (TM) and strengthen global health equity.

Stewards of a collective future

Delhi-based broadcaster Rini Simon Khanna opened the session, entitled: “ Restoring balance: Scaling up access to evidence-based traditional medicine for health and well-being”. She emphasized that the audience had gathered as “stewards of a collective future in health”, with TM serving as “a bridge connecting ancestral knowledge and modern science”. Prataprao Jadhav, India’s Minister of State for the Ministry of Ayush, addressed the gathering via pre-recorded video, stressing the need to integrate traditional knowledge with modern health systems in response to global challenges. The Minister took the opportunity to introduce the second WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit, to be held in December 2025, and encouraged people to continue the dialogue at the Summit and “be a part of this shared journey towards global health harmony”.

Dr Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary and Vice-Minister, Ministry of Ayush, opened the panel discussion, telling participants, “TM is not just a thing of the past, it is a living, evolving component of many health systems around the globe”, offering relevance and promise in delivering affordable, accessible, people-centred care.

The first panellist, Drungtsho Dorji Gyeltshen, Traditional Medicine Physician at National Traditional Medicine Hospital, Bhutan, showcased how the country’s traditional system of health care, Sowa-Rigpa, is accessible to rural and hard-to-reach communities and offers trusted, free and culturally relevant care. Sowa-Rigpa plays a key role in Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness, which is aligned to four pillars: good governance, social and economic development, preservation and promotion of culture, and environmental conservation.

Dr Saima Wazed, Regional Director for WHO South East Asia Regional Office, explained how the draft WHO Global Strategy for Traditional Medicine, 2025–2034 (scheduled for discussion at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly) will support WHO Member States in integrating TM into primary health care. She stressed the need to develop evidence-based programmes to reduce misinformation, for greater confidence in TM. She also highlighted the need for culturally reflective policies and regulatory bodies, communicated in understandable language.

Aditya Burman, Non-Executive Director of Dabur India, emphasized the need to shift from anecdotal to evidence-based TM, just as biomedicine did. He added, “We hear anecdotal a little too much when it comes to TM, and we’d like to change that”. When discussing how to drive future growth in the TM sector, Mr Burman said, “It’s not about shouting louder [about the benefits of TM], it’s about allowing the other side to be receptive – building effective products and proving their effectiveness in a globally understood language”.

Professor Georg Seifert, a Senior Lecturer in Paediatrics at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, built on this point by explaining that more research is urgently needed, particularly on TM’s cost-effectiveness and sustainability. He also noted that integration of TM and biomedicine requires trust between those working in both systems, which grows from transparency about the strengths and limitations of TM. Professor Seifert also remarked on cross-cultural collaboration: “I can envisage a global network of integrative clinical centres that aid a diverse care model using rigorous but flexible methods, tailored to cultural and therapeutic contexts”, he said.

Tanushree Jain, Chair of Public Health at the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation and member of the WHO Youth Council, discussed the generational shift in young people’s attitudes towards wellness, which includes preventive practices that incorporate ethics and sustainability. She highlighted that young people want to see TM validated through science and integrated safely in modern care. “When traditional knowledge is adapted with rigour and relevance, it earns our trust”, she stated.

Digital tools like mobile health apps and fitness trackers are making traditional practices more accessible to youth and driving behaviour change. When these tools are engaging, educational, inclusive and sustainable, they empower young people to integrate personalized holistic care into their daily lives.

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, former Chief Scientist at WHO and Chair of MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, stated, “No system of medicine has the answer to everything, and this is why we need to think about integrative medicine”. She stressed that there are currently different terms and diagnostic systems in use by traditional healers and allopathic doctors. She explained that to bridge the gap between science and policy, culturally significant practices need to be evaluated and integrated using robust, context-sensitive scientific methods, with a common language and vocabulary. Dr Swaminathan also highlighted the importance of harnessing the opportunities presented by modern tools, such as AI for diagnostics, through a multidisciplinary approach.

Dr Rajesh Kotecha asked each of the panellists one final question: “Looking ahead to the next five years, what is the one thing that is needed most for TM to advance the health and well-being of all?”

• Drungtsho Dorji Gyeltshen said that establishing Bhutan as a centre of excellence, and focusing on sustainable and innovative practices will preserve and promote Sowa-Rigpa, ensuring it remains relevant, accessible and contributes to global health;
• Dr Saima Wazed emphasized bringing data and knowledge together from global TM practices in a standardized format, so they can be shared on a global platform;
• Aditya Burman noted that it is important to ensure TM becomes part of the mainstream vocabulary, suggesting inclusion on medical TV shows and films, to show that TM is not a niche “out there” idea;
• Professor Georg Seifert said that he sees big potential in preventive medicine and integrated health care models, but strong evidence and good business models are needed to show cost-effectiveness;
• Tanushree Jain highlighted establishing evidence in scientific research and using that to build trust in TM;
• Dr Soumya Swaminathan stressed that this is the time to come together to bring the disciplines together, to not fight over which one is better, but to develop the science and communicate it effectively to people, for the best person-centred care.

The session concluded with a question-and-answer session with the audience. One participant said that, as an editor at The Lancet medical journal, they noted a lack of submissions and publications on TM. They highlighted the need to bring TM to the global stage, through high-quality journal articles and clinical trials, for people to have trust. The panellists suggested some challenges, such as language or cultural understanding, as well as constructive feedback, such as the need for greater outreach or funding programmes. Dr Swaminathan added that there is also an evidence feedback loop – if the right research has not been published in the literature, then it is difficult to validate findings, as per publication policies, and suggested journals like The Lancet help create publishing opportunities for TM research.

Restoring balance

In his closing video address, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, reminded the audience that TM is as old as humanity itself and that for hundreds of millions of people, TM is just medicine. Through GTMC, WHO is supporting research to harness the power of these ancient practices.

Moderator Rini Simon Khanna remarked that this is “not the conclusion of our conversation but the beginning of a shared journey”, which is as much about restoring balance within ourselves, our communities, the health system and our relationship with the natural world. That journey continues at the second WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit in December. The summit video was unveiled, which sets out how the next Summit will help unlock the full potential of TM. The Summit offers not just a space for dialogue, but a call to action to explore how the nexus of TM and modern science can restore balance and well-being for people and our planet. Ms Khanna closed, “Restoring balance is not just a policy goal, it is a personal and planetary commitment.