Friday, 19 December 2025

WHO Director-General's closing remarks at the second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine

https://www.who.int/news-room/speeches/item/who-director-general-s-remarks-at-the-closing-of-the-second-global-summit-on-traditional-medicine-19-december-2025

Your Excellency Prime Minister Modi,

Excellencies, Ministers, distinguished leaders, dear colleagues and friends,

Namaste.

I extend my deepest appreciation to the Government and people of India – and in particular to Prime Minister Modi – for hosting this Summit, and for his unwavering, continued leadership and partnership.

Your Excellency, your vision of “One Earth, One Health” encapsulates the principles of traditional medicine:

Balance between people and nature;

An emphasis on prevention over cure,

And health as a shared responsibility.

It aligns powerfully with WHO’s mission to promote health equity, sustainability, and resilience.

Under your leadership, India has helped to elevate traditional medicine in the global health agenda, and it’s now clearly on the global map.

From the establishment of a dedicated Ministry of Ayush, to the creation of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar, India has shown that tradition and innovation, heritage and science can advance together.

Through its centuries-old Ayush systems, India has shown the world that traditional wisdom and modern science are not inconsistent, but complementary.

Over the past three days, voices from more than one hundred countries have come together – scientists and practitioners, Ministers and Indigenous leaders, innovators and communities.

You have come from different traditions and different systems, but with one shared purpose: to bridge ancient tradition and modern science.

Together, you have shown that traditional medicine is not a relic of the past. It is not an alternative at the margins.

It is a living science, a shared heritage, and an important element of universal health coverage, resilient health systems, and sustainable development.

Traditional medicine can help to address many of the threats to health of our modern world: the growing burden of noncommunicable diseases; inequitable access to health services; and climate change.

It can help to support care that is person-centred, culturally grounded, and holistic.

Through the Delhi Commitment, countries have agreed not only on why traditional medicine matters – but on how to act.

We have agreed to strengthen the evidence base, using rigorous, ethical, and pluralistic research that respects whole systems and Indigenous knowledge;

We have agreed to ensure safety, quality, and public trust, through coherent and risk-based regulation;

We have agreed to safeguard biodiversity and traditional knowledge, while respecting cultural heritage, intellectual property, and equitable benefit-sharing;

We have agreed to harness digital technologies and innovation responsibly, to improve access, research, and data generation;

And we have agreed to integrate safe and effective traditional medicine into health systems, especially primary health care, where it delivers clear, evidence-informed value.

These priorities are at the heart of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025 to 2034 – a strategy grounded in science, guided by ethics, and driven by equity and global solidarity.

Today, we also marked a historic step forward with the launch of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Library.

This Library is far more than a repository of knowledge.

It is a platform of trust.

It will protect intellectual property and community rights;

Support equitable access and benefit-sharing;

And enable evidence-informed policy, education, and innovation – globally and across generations.

It is a powerful response to the call issued by Prime Minister Modi for global stewardship of traditional knowledge – a call echoed across the G20, BRICS, and beyond.

Prime Minister, Excellencies,

The real success of this summit will be measured not by what we agreed here in New Delhi – but by what happens next, in countries and communities.

That means translating commitments into national policies and regulatory frameworks;

It means investing in research, education, and workforce development;

It means integrating traditional medicine responsibly and safely into health systems;

And it means ensuring tangible, equitable benefits for people – especially those most underserved.

And I was very encouraged to hear all of the ministers of health who have been sharing their experiences during the Ministerial Roundtable, and of course, the heads of delegation.

WHO stands fully committed to walking this path with you – through the Global Traditional Medicine Centre, technical cooperation, shared standards, and transparent accountability.

But your message today was very clear at the Ministerial Roundtable.

As we conclude this summit, let us leave united by a shared conviction:

That the future of health must be integrative, inclusive, and evidence-informed.

That science and tradition are not opposites – but partners.

And that by restoring balance between people, communities, and the planet, we can build healthier societies for generations to come.

Prime Minister Modi’s leadership has helped bring this vision to the world stage.

Your Excellency, I look forward to your reflections and guidance as we move from commitment to action.

Thank you for your leadership.

Thank you for your partnership.

And thank you for shaping this future – together.

Bahut bahut dhanyawad.

News release from 17 December: WHO hosts the second Global Summit to advance evidence, integration and innovation for traditional medicine
Multimedia package on traditional medicine (Includes soundbites by Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, interim Director of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre and Dr Sylvie Briand, WHO Chief Scientist
Soundbites by Dr Sylvie Briand, WHO Chief Scientist in French can be accessed here.
Traditional Medicines Summit photography: gallery
Global traditional medicine strategy 2025-2034
Videos - traditional medicine perspectives from around the world

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