As an organizational member of the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine – AIHM – COMTA is proud to be among the initial signatories for The People’s Declaration for Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Healthcare
The People’s Declaration for Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Healthcare calls for the respectful collaboration between traditional, complementary and biomedical practices with the aim of achieving a person-centered and holistic approach to health.
The healthcare we want focuses on the whole person, is participative, respects individual choices as well as cultural diversity and integrates clinical experience and patient values with the best available research information.
Full access to traditional, complementary and integrative healthcare should be part of the right to health.
DEFINITIONS
Traditional, complementary and integrative healthcare (TCIH) refers to the respectful collaboration between various systems of healthcare and their health professionals with the aim of offering a person-centered and holistic approach to health.
ABOUT US
We represent a worldwide community of users and health professionals of TCIH with a large diversity of backgrounds and experiences with a common commitment to the advancement and promotion of TCIH.
THE HEALTHCARE WE DESIRE
- Focuses on the whole person, including physical, mental, social and spiritual dimensions • Is patient-centered and supports self-healing and health creation
- Is participative and respects individual choices
- Is evidence-based by integrating clinical experience and patient values with the best available research information
- Respects cultural diversity and regional differences
- Is an integral part of community and planetary health
- Uses natural and sustainable resources that are respectful of the health of our planet
- Integrates traditional, complementary and biomedical practices in a supportive and collaborative manner
We appreciate the benefits of conventional/biomedicine. At the same time we recognize its limitations, including:
- The insufficient therapeutic options that biomedicine provides, especially for chronic/non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
- Frequent side effects of biomedical treatments and rising antimicrobial resistance
- Fragmentation of care from increased specialization and the limits of a disease-based model
We are inspired by countries that are successfully integrating TCIH into their healthcare systems. However, we are concerned about:
- Countries that prevent, limit or undervalue the practice of TCIH
- Uninformed or unbalanced media reporting of TCIH
- Insufficient public funding of TCIH research
- Risk of reduced availability of TCIH and unregulated practices in some countries
OUR CALL TO ACTION
All countries
- Ensure full access to TCIH as part of the right to health for all
- Include TCIH into national health systems
- Provide accreditation of TCIH healthcare professionals in accordance with international training standards to ensure high quality care
- Ensure access and safety of TCIH medicines through specific regulatory pathways
- Fund research on TCIH and disseminate reliable information on TCIH to the public
All healthcare professionals
- Foster respectful collaboration between all healthcare professions towards achieving a person-centered and holistic approach to healthcare
For more information, please visit: https://www.tchi.org