Building Resilient Health Systems: Unlocking the Public Health Potential of Traditional Medicine

Health systems worldwide face growing pressures from aging populations, chronic diseases, workforce shortages, climate change, and declining public trust. Building resilient health systems requires not only strong clinical services but also effective public health functions, trusted community engagement and evidence-informed policy.

Traditional medicine has long played an important role in health promotion, disease prevention, and primary health care for billions of people worldwide. As countries implement the World Health Organization (WHO) Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, attention is increasingly shifting towards understanding how traditional medicine can contribute to stronger, more resilient health systems.

This interactive fishbowl discussion will bring together global leaders from WHO, scientific publishing, government and Indigenous/community organizations to explore how traditional medicine can strengthen Essential Public Health Functions, inform future research and policy agendas, foster community trust, and support national implementation. Through an open dialogue with participants, the session will examine opportunities, challenges and priorities for responsibly unlocking the public health potential of traditional medicine.