Billions of people use traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) as part of their health care. Yet traditional medicine research attracts less than 1% of global health research funding. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls that one of the largest evidence gaps in global health, and on 17 September 2026 it launched a plan to close it.

WHO’s new roadmap, the WHO Global research priorities and agenda for traditional, complementary and integrative medicine 2025 to 2034, sets out where investigation could do the most good. It arrives as countries hunt for ways to reduce noncommunicable diseases. Those illnesses kill more than 43 million people every year. Governments also want to move closer to universal health coverage (UHC).

Why Traditional Medicine Research Has Fallen Behind

The numbers in the WHO update are stark. Beyond the funding shortfall, researchers in this field make up only 0.43% of the global health research workforce. As a result, traditional medicine remains one of the least researched areas in global health. People still make real choices about it every day.

Dr Geetha Krishnan Gopalakrishna Pillai leads Traditional Medicine Research, Data and Innovation at the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre. She says patients and governments are already making decisions about traditional medicine. “What has been missing is the evidence to inform them. This agenda sets out where that evidence needs to come from,” Dr Pillai said.

Governments Moved Before the Agenda Did

At the Second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine in New Delhi in December 2025, 27 Member States made formal commitments. Each one came with a deadline. Tanzania pledged a research budget of up to TSh 10 billion by 2030. Cabo Verde, Malawi, the Federated States of Micronesia and Seychelles each promised a national research centre. India is anchoring a research consortium that spans several countries, while Iran is launching a national platform for clinical trials.

Unusually for a global health framework, these promises came before WHO published the agenda, and they shaped it. Because of that, the priorities reflect what governments said they were prepared to act on.

Where Evidence Could Help Most

Stroke, mental health, pain, musculoskeletal disorders, cancer, metabolic diseases and reproductive health are the priority areas. WHO also singles out older people, children and preventive health. The aim is to steer investment towards studies that show where traditional medicine may help. That covers prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and care centred on the person.

Meanwhile, WHO wants researchers to think differently. It calls for approaches that reflect the real complexity of traditional medicine. These include real world evidence, digital health technologies, systems thinking and artificial intelligence.

Safer Care, Clearer Rules and Patient Protection

For that reason, rigorous work is essential, the agenda argues, to establish what works, what does not, what is safe and what gives patients and health systems real value. Member States have repeatedly asked for stronger evidence on insurance coverage, regulation, service delivery and workforce development.

In addition, the report argues that better evidence helps countries avoid ineffective or unsafe practices, protect patients and widen access to quality care. Put simply, traditional medicine research is ultimately an investment in universal health coverage.

Respecting Indigenous Knowledge

The document insists that Indigenous Peoples and traditional knowledge holders must be genuine partners in research. It calls for stronger protection of intellectual property, equitable benefit sharing and respect for cultural integrity.

Emerging challenges also feature, from antimicrobial resistance and pandemic preparedness to healthy ageing and climate change. Governance frameworks, it says, should encourage innovation while protecting traditional knowledge and data sovereignty.

A Global Effort With a Decade to Deliver

WHO describes the roadmap as the product of one of the largest traditional medicine prioritisation exercises to date. The process analysed 39,927 research grants across 40 funding schemes and examined 116 research institutes in 67 countries. It also drew on consultations with 199 experts from 75 countries and Delphi surveys involving 235 participants.

Finally, the agenda advances a core objective of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025 to 2034, which all 194 Member States ratified at the World Health Assembly in May 2025.

With 27 countries already committed, the next decade will test whether research into traditional medicine delivers evidence in time to guide the decisions governments are making now.

Source: dbrecoveryresources