Traditional Medicine Takes Centre Stage in Berlin’s Debate on Resilient Health Systems

Tunisia’s Minister of Health, Dr Mustapha Ferjani, opened the session by describing his country’s commitment to integrating traditional medicine into wider health services so that care is accessible and suited to people’s needs.

A health service can have trained staff and modern equipment and still struggle to reach people who do not trust it or feel it understands their lives. At the World Health Summit 2026 in Berlin, speakers explored how traditional medicine could help strengthen those connections, supported by scientific evidence, regulation and patient safety.

The discussion marked the third event at the summit since 2025 to examine traditional medicine's contribution to global health goals. Moderated by Dr Hiba Boujnah, Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre at the Charité Competence Center for Traditional and Integrative Medicine, the panel considered what it would take to turn that potential into stronger, more resilient health systems.

Bringing traditional knowledge and scientific scrutiny together

Tunisia's Minister of Health, Dr Mustapha Ferjani, opened the session by describing his country's commitment to integrating traditional medicine into wider health services so that care is accessible and suited to people's needs.

He placed scientific evaluation, quality assurance and patient safety alongside respect for traditional knowledge. His remarks also connected this work with biodiversity protection, One Health approaches linking human, animal and environmental health, digital transformation and the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, Acting Director of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine, expanded the discussion beyond the ability of health services to withstand a crisis. She described resilience as the capacity of people, communities, systems and the environment to attain, restore and sustain balance.

Countries should lead this work using evidence to guide decisions, she said, with equity, trust and sustainability at the centre of policy. She also outlined WHO's emerging Living Well initiative, which seeks to connect traditional knowledge, science, innovation and international cooperation.

Culture and community shape how people experience care

For Vivian Camacho, an Indigenous health leader from Bolivia, health as a human right is closely connected to cultural identity, community values and harmony with nature.

Drawing on the Indigenous concept of Sumaq Kawsay, or living well, she described Bolivia's experience of recognising traditional healers and incorporating ancestral medicine into its national health system. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous-led responses combined public health messages with traditional healing practices to support mental, physical and spiritual well-being.

Her account brought attention to the relationships through which health advice reaches communities, particularly when people turn to practitioners who understand their language, beliefs and everyday concerns.

Dr Sohel Saikat, WHO Senior Advisor on Primary Health Care, said traditional practitioners could help extend the reach of essential public health services through trust, cultural legitimacy and community engagement.

He highlighted possible contributions to health promotion, prevention, risk communication, early detection and referral. Formal referral arrangements working in both directions between traditional practitioners and primary care providers, together with opportunities to learn from one another, could strengthen prevention, surveillance and preparedness.

Integration needs evidence, investment and equal partnerships

Amie Steel, a researcher at Southern Cross University, pointed to growing evidence that traditional medicine practitioners already support preventive health through behaviour change, health literacy and healthier lifestyles.

She described them as an under-recognised public health resource and called for stronger evidence and greater investment. Research should bring practitioners, scientists, traditional knowledge holders, Indigenous healers and communities together as equal partners, giving them a meaningful role in producing evidence and shaping policy.

Across the discussion, speakers connected traditional medicine's possible contributions to prevention, primary care, mental well-being and community resilience with the need for robust research, effective regulation and respectful cooperation.

The session closed with a call to move towards fuller integration within national health systems. Participants said this would require protecting Indigenous knowledge, supporting innovation, promoting equity and building practical partnerships between traditional medicine, public health and biomedical services, according to WHO's account of the event.

The challenge for countries is to make those partnerships work in everyday care, with clear responsibilities, reliable evidence and communities involved in decisions about their health.