UAE Sets Four National Commitments to Advance Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine

“The UAE is demonstrating how countries can advance evidence-based integration while maintaining strong standards for quality, safety and effectiveness,” Dr Pillai said.

At the Al Shifaa Summit for Integrative Medicine in Abu Dhabi, the UAE announced four national commitments to bring traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) into its health system with a stronger focus on research, regulation and public safety. The summit gathered policymakers, health leaders, researchers, practitioners and innovators to discuss how evidence, education and responsible innovation can shape that work.

H.E. Safeya Abdulazeez Al Maqtari, Acting Secretary General of the UAE Integrative Medicine Council, presented the commitments as part of the UAE National Integrative Medicine Strategy. The announcement connects the country's plans with the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, which calls for stronger evidence, safety and regulation, health-system integration and cross-sectoral cooperation.

Four commitments set a national direction

The UAE's four commitments focus on turning strategy into practical steps:

1. Advance implementation and policy: Develop national policies, regulatory frameworks, standards of care and evidence-based clinical guidelines for TCIM, with the goal of supporting quality, safety and effectiveness by 2028.
2. Set research priorities: Develop the country's first National Integrative Medicine Research Agenda by 2027, guiding research, evidence generation and innovation around national health priorities.
3. Build education and workforce capacity: Strengthen TCIM education, health-worker skills and public awareness through local and international collaboration, helping practitioners build professional competencies and people make informed choices.
4. Expand partnerships and knowledge exchange: Encourage cross-sector cooperation, public-private engagement and the sharing of expertise, positioning the UAE as a global contributor to healthy living, disease prevention and longevity.

Al Maqtari's presentation also described emerging areas of collaboration between the UAE Integrative Medicine Council and the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre. Detailed arrangements are continuing through the relevant processes.

Speakers call for research and safeguards

Representing the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre, Dr Geetha Krishnan Gopalakrishna Pillai, Unit Head for Traditional Medicine Research, Data and Innovation, welcomed the UAE's work to translate the global strategy into national action.

"The UAE is demonstrating how countries can advance evidence-based integration while maintaining strong standards for quality, safety and effectiveness," Dr Pillai said. She added that national research priorities aligned with WHO's Global Research Priorities and Agenda for Traditional Medicine could strengthen coordinated research, data generation and responsible innovation.

During a panel on building an evidence ecosystem for integrative medicine, Dr Ahmed Alosi, Research Consultant at the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention's National Center for Health Research, described the country's developing research environment and plans to identify national TCIM priorities. Dr Thekra Mohamed, Division Director for Drugs and Medical Products at the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, spoke about applying rigorous standards for safety, quality and effectiveness as new ideas are developed.

From a regional perspective, Dr Adi Al-Nuseirat, Technical Officer at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, highlighted the need for stronger regulatory frameworks across the region and pointed to the UAE's experience regulating multiple traditional medicine systems.

Turning summit discussions into action

Speakers returned to a shared theme: integration needs scientific evidence and effective governance. Their discussions covered coordinated research and data collection, regulatory frameworks, standards of care, education and workforce development, alongside stronger national and international partnerships.

The commitments give the UAE a framework for advancing its national strategy and working with WHO on the wider goal of making TCIM safe, effective and people-centred. The WHO strategy sets out that global direction for 2025–2034, with evidence, regulation and integration among its central objectives.