The WHO Traditional Medicine Conference issued "Beijing Declaration" to promote tradition

At present, the WHO Traditional Medicine Conference organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and organized by the Chinese Ministry of Health and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine is held in Beijing. At the meeting, WHO members jointly issued a "Beijing Declaration" that emphasizes the development of traditional medicine and ensures the rational use of traditional medicine by patients and suppliers.
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said that in the context of calling for the renewal of primary health care around the world, the value and status of traditional medicine should be re-examined, and its contribution to equitable, affordable, people-centred health services should be properly viewed. It is only time to consider traditional medicine as a precious resource.
WHO has long realized that traditional medicine is an integral part of a fair and accessible health system based on primary health care. The international community, national governments, and health professionals and workers need to take action to promote traditional medicine as an important part of the promotion of health care for all.
The Beijing Declaration adopted by the General Assembly stated that it is necessary to maintain and protect knowledge about traditional medicine, treatment and practice, as well as natural resources indispensable for its sustainable use, and to ensure the safety, effectiveness and accessibility of traditional medicine practices. Governments of all countries have the responsibility to protect the health of their own people. They should formulate national policies, regulations and standards as part of the national comprehensive health system to ensure the safe and effective use of traditional medicine.
For countries that have yet to integrate traditional medicine into the national health system, the WHO calls for the governments of these countries to take practical actions.
The Beijing Declaration emphasizes that traditional medicine should be harmonized with the "Global Strategy and Action Plan for Public Health, Innovation, and Intellectual Property Rights" adopted by the 61st World Health Assembly in 2008 and further developed on the basis of research and innovation. Governments, international organizations and other stakeholders should work together to implement the above plans. Governments of all countries should establish a system of qualification certification for practitioners of traditional medicine and apply their qualifications or practice licenses to practitioners. At the same time, practitioners of traditional medicine should improve their knowledge and professional skills to meet the needs of the country. Enhance communication between traditional medicine providers and establish training mechanisms for traditional medicine practitioners, medical students and related researchers.
In recent years, WHO has been promoting continuous efforts in the field of traditional medicine. At the 55th traditional medical conference, the WHO proposed a global strategy for the development of traditional medicine.
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said: Traditional medicine is usually accessible, affordable, and widely used in most parts of Asia, Africa and Africa. It is sometimes even the only source of health services for rural people in some developing countries. . In the context of calling for the revitalization of primary health care around the world, the value and status of traditional medicine should be re-examined, and its contribution to equitably accessible, affordable, people-centred health services should be properly considered. It is only time to consider traditional medicine as a precious resource.
Believe in Chinese medicine
Based on the adjustment, the “Beijing Declaration” clearly defines traditional medicine: “Traditional medicine is used in the preservation of health and prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental diseases. It is different in culture, interpretable, or uninterpretable. The sum of knowledge, skills, and practices based on theory, belief, and experience.” As a traditional medicine with a complete theoretical system, the status of traditional Chinese medicine is quite representative.
Chen Hao, Minister of Health, stated in the speech delivered by the General Assembly that the Chinese government attaches great importance to and supports the development of Chinese medicine and always adheres to the principle of equal emphasis on Chinese and Western medicine and has formulated a series of guidelines and policies for the protection, support and development of Chinese medicine. As an important component of the medical and health service system with Chinese characteristics, Chinese medicine has not only had significant curative effects on many common diseases and frequently-occurring diseases, but also played an important role in the prevention and control of major diseases and emerging infectious diseases.
However, it cannot be avoided that the development of Chinese medicine is still not satisfactory.
Analysis of the industry, Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine are inseparable, unlike Western medicine, Western medicine can be relatively independent. The problem of traditional Chinese medicine is not to a large extent in traditional Chinese medicine (the sales volume of traditional Chinese medicine is not very small), and it is more of a problem for Chinese medicine. Looking at the development of traditional Chinese medicine alone, there are fewer and fewer high-level doctors in recent decades. The mechanism of medical inheritance is not perfect, and the diagnosis and treatment market is mixed. And there are some fatal mistakes in the propaganda of Chinese medicine, inflating the role of Chinese medicine and making people lose trust in Chinese medicine. This is not an individual issue. In addition, due to the long-standing propaganda-oriented “Chinese medicine has no side effects” and other publicity orientations, people’s psychological endurance to side effects of Chinese medicine is low. In recent years, some public safety incidents of traditional Chinese medicine preparations have also caused people to doubt Chinese medicine.
In response, Margaret Chan called on member states to combine traditional medicine and Western medicine with high efficiency, and expressed appreciation to the Chinese government for incorporating Chinese medicine into the national basic medical system. She said: "Public hospitals in various parts of China are using conventional Chinese herbal medicine to treat many diseases while providing conventional treatment."
At the same time, she emphasized that the confirmation of the safety and effectiveness of traditional medicine in therapy requires special research methods, and supervision must be strengthened in management training, qualification certification, and strict control of product safety. WHO will provide support in this area and respect traditional medicine as a precious resource.
Some related sources also stated that the international situation of Chinese traditional medicine is not better than the situation in other countries where traditional medicine is located. Some foreign research institutions are interested in Chinese medicine, mainly because of the economic goals of their own country or the company, and have nothing to do with "supporting" Chinese medicine. If we do not step up research in Chinese medicine, Chinese medicine will one day become a “foreign doctor,” and the development of traditional medicine today is mainly innovation. Without innovation, there will be no development. After all, anti-traditional Chinese medicine is a minority. Since national policy-oriented support has already existed, the key lies in the development of Chinese medicine itself. Why do so many "Chinese medicines" occupy most of the international market? Explain that our Chinese medicine research needs to be improved.
Looking for natural medicine
During the convening of the WHO Traditional Medicine Conference, around the theme of the conference, four satellite conferences were held at the same time, including the “16th Conference of the Self-Healthcare Satellite and the World Self Pharmaceutical Industry in the Health System” and “Traditional” organized by the China Association of Nonprescription Medicines. The "Medicine Satellite Society" mainly discussed the current status and development of the traditional medicine industry and attracted the attention of the industry.
Analysts believe that in developed countries such as Europe and the United States, most traditional medicines are supplemented with medical treatment or dietary supplements, and natural ingredients contained in traditional medicines are gradually welcomed by consumers. In some countries in Africa, herbal treatment is still the main treatment, and most African countries have legislation in this area and research on herbs. All indications are that the traditional pharmaceutical market will continue to expand in the future.
A statistic shows that medicines made of natural substances account for about 30% of all medicines. Among them, the market share of international botanicals has exceeded US$30 billion, and the demand for Chinese herbal medicines and traditional Chinese medicine preparations has also rapidly increased. Therefore, the opportunities for traditional medicines in the world and the opportunities in China have attracted great attention from various parties, especially China's rapidly expanding pharmaceutical market and a relatively complete Chinese medicine system.
In fact, as early as a few years ago, a number of multinational pharmaceutical companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, etc. had started their R&D plans for Chinese traditional medicine. In today's increasingly difficult and less productive chemical drugs, traditional medicine has become one of the most likely breakthrough points for R&D. In addition, there are a number of natural medicine varieties overseas registered in China and listed for sale. Therefore, domestic companies should always be alert to various challenges from the international side in the face of opportunities.