TM in Africa

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The WHO African Region hosts diverse Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) systems rooted in ancestral knowledge, Indigenous spiritual practices and plant-based healing. Herbalism, spiritual diagnosis, midwifery and bone-setting remain widely practised across both rural and urban settings, often drawing on ancestral ecological wisdom.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Traditional Medicine is recognized as a key pillar of primary care in contexts with limited biomedical coverage, and healers often serve as frontline providers in maternal, mental health and chronic care pathways. While formal integration varies, many countries have initiated national policies, traditional health practitioner registries and training programmes. For example, countries like South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria have developed legal frameworks to support safe practice, while others focus on community documentation and intercultural dialogue.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The region has contributed over 5495 documents to the Traditional Medicine Global Library, covering themes such as biodiversity-based healing, spiritual trauma care, traditional birth systems and public health resilience.</span></p> <p> </p>