Thank you for considering joining this important initiative. Below you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Who started this initiative?
This is a "grassroots" initiative launched by an international group of sponsoring organisations of healthcare practitioners, patients and scientists, and is being supported by a large and growing group of stakeholders from around the world who share a vision for how healthcare can be improved.
Details on the sponsoring organisations can be found here. The oversight of the TCIH Declaration is carried out through collaborative discussions between the sponsoring organisations, with input from stakeholders.
Is this a truly world-wide project?
Yes. This initiative has had a fully global focus since its beginning. Several of the sponsoring organisations have a global reach, while others are from the North and South America, Europe, as well as from China, India and Australia. Already at the moment of its launch, the TCIH Declaration had initial signatories from all WHO regions.
Is the concept of TCIH new?
No. Traditional and complementary practices have been around for centuries; for instance, Ayurvedic medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine have been practiced for thousands of years. There have also been efforts for several decades to integrate traditional, complementary and biomedical practices. Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Healthcare (TCIH) represents the goal of respectful collaboration between traditional, complementary and biomedical healthcare practices, with the aim of achieving a person-centred and holistic approach to health.
What is new about the People’s Declaration for TCIH?
The TCIH Declaration is the first world-wide grassroot effort to explicitly state that the healthcare we desire focuses on the whole person, is participative, respects individual choices, as well as cultural diversity, and integrates clinical experiences and patient values with the best available research information. The TCIH Declaration calls for access to traditional, complementary and integrative healthcare to be part of the right to health and makes specific demands to policy makers.
The TCIH Declaration is aligned with the “WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy: 2014-2023” and adds further weight to the many government and academic initiatives already underway in this field.
Which traditional & complementary practices are supported by this declaration?
We recognize that globally there are hundreds of different traditional and complementary practices, some of which have been practiced for centuries, and others that are based on new technologies and research. The TCIH Declaration supports evidence-based practices and supports further research.
To what extent is the TCIH Declaration supporting evidence-based practices?
The TCIH Declaration supports practices that are evidence-based by integrating clinical experience and patient values with the best available research information. This should also be the criteria for TCIH practices to be included into national health systems and to be made available as part of the right to health.
One of the specific demands of the TCIH Declaration is increased public funding for TCIH research.
Is the declaration critical of conventional biomedical medicine?
No. The TCIH Declaration fully supports biomedicine and acknowledges its tremendous benefits. It calls for the respectful collaboration between traditional, complementary and biomedical practices with the aim of achieving a person-centred and holistic approach to health. Different TCIH modalities expand the benefits of conventional biomedicine by adding the best of traditional and complementary practices in an integrative way.
Who are the intended signatories of the TCIH Declaration?
The TCIH Declaration can be signed by healthcare professional bodies, academic institutions, non-governmental organisations, patient associations, as well as healthcare professionals, patients and interested individuals. In order to ensure the independence of this initiative from any vested interests, commercial entities can NOT be signatories.
What is the aim of the TCIH Declaration?
The aims of the TCIH Declaration include:
- Promotion of the TCIH Declaration to build a global community of TCIH supporters;
- Promotion of the demands of the TCIH Declaration to policy-makers in health and research ministries in different countries.
- A specific focus will be the promotion of the TCIH Declaration at the World Health Assembly in 2023 in Geneva, where we want our demands to be included in the decision on the new WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy (following the current strategy in place for the period 2014 – 2023).
How will donations to the TCIH Declaration be spent?
All donations to the TCIH Declaration will go towards the administration and management of the TCIH website, and for initiatives connected to the TCIH Declaration. All funding will be overseen by the TCIH sponsoring organisations.
How can I disseminate the TCIH Declaration?
Below you can access the TCIH Communications ToolKit, along with a range of materials to facilitate the dissemination of the TCIH Declaration: