Abstract

Complementary and traditional medicines (CTM) are an important tool for empowering and enriching the capacity and quality of public health systems. It provides more comprehensive approach to health systems, preserves cultural diversity and facilitate human development, and has claimed, despite all the tremendous advancements in modern medicine, an increasing share of the public's awareness and the agenda of medical researchers. Socioeconomic dimensions, priority disease management, Intellectual Property Rights, Research and Development and affiliated systems are major influencing features for the development of policies related to CTM. Common challenges includes recognition, regulatory status, educational standards, assessment of efficacy, quality control and safety monitoring related to traditional medicine, ecological obligation; value addition and intercultural approach can be overcome by adopting World Health Organization (WHO) traditional medicine strategy in contexts to maximize the contribution and integration of CTM to health care systems globally. A corrective, promotive and science based policy needs to be initiated for CTM to fully realize and materialize its potential and contribute more meaningfully to integrative health services. Setting up of a permanent commission on traditional medicines (TRM), issuing policy statement, recognizing the historical role of complementary and traditional medicines in providing health care, mobilization of resources for the development of CTM, training of health workers at the community level in using TCM to treat common diseases and establishment of institution which deals with necessary measures to protect intellectual property and include efforts to link with internationally accepted International Patent Classification system will help integrate TCM into main health care system.

Key words: Complementary and traditional medicines (CTM), policy, integration, quality control, Intellectual property rights, public health.