Policy 6-pager

Populations throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America use traditional medicine (TM) to help meet their primary health care needs. As well as being accessible and affordable, TM is also often part of a wider belief system, and considered integral to everyday life and well-being. Meanwhile, in Australia, Europe and North America, “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM)1 is increasingly used in parallel to allopathic medicine, particularly for treating and managing chronic disease. Concern about the adverse effects of chemical medicines, a desire for more personalized health care and greater public access to health information, fuel this increased use (Figure 1; Box 1).