On 3-4 December of this year I was invited to speak at the first World Conference on Traditional Medicine in Beijing, co-organised by the Beijing municipal health authorities and the World Health Organisation (WHO). I believe that there are very significant things happening on the global level as regards Chinese medicine and I wanted to write a report of the event to lay out my thoughts and impressions.
BAcC CEO Alex Jacobs & WHO Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward
I had received this invitation at short notice and did not want to pass up the opportunity to make connections for us with doctors, hospitals and universities in the country where our great medicine originated and to find out what is happening in traditional medicine on a global level.
The Beijing Winter was not as cold as I expected, with some much-appreciated Winter sun preventing temperatures falling below zero.
The first day of the conference was held in a single vast room with presentations from high level WHO representatives alongside government officials from China and around the world. This was followed by a series of roundtable discussions.
I did not know what to expect before attending the event but a few things immediately struck me. Firstly, due to the high level of those in attendance, it was clear that both the WHO and China currently have a very strong commitment to the promotion of Chinese medicine, both within China and around the world.
The WHO is set to launch its 10-year strategy on traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) next year. The WHO presentations gave a preview on what this would look like. The draft strategy has four key objectives:
- Optimize the cross-sector value of TCIM and empower communities through inclusive approaches.
- Strengthen the evidence base for TCIM.
- Support the provision of quality and safe TCIM through appropriate regulatory mechanisms.
- Integrate TCIM into health systems to support the achievement of universal health coverage.
Specifically of interest to us, under objective 3, direction 3.2 is specified:
‘Provide appropriate regulatory mechanisms for TCIM practices and practitioners’
When this strategy is approved and published next year, the UK, as a member country will need to respond.
According to the WHO global survey on TCIM conducted in 2023, the ambitious and dedicated work of our education sector, BAcC, BAAB and the accredited colleges, we have supported the elevation of the UK into one of only 58 member countries with university courses in traditional medicine. I raised this alongside our PSA accredited voluntary regulation status in a conversation I was able to have with the assistant director-general of the WHO, Bruce Aylward. He was very receptive and interested to hear the progress that the UK had made but also to hear about our challenges and the fact that we had been denied statutory regulation. We will be following up this connection and will be engaging directly with the WHO to explore what kind of support they can give us in our efforts for greater acceptance, recognition and integration in the UK.
This strong stated strategy of the WHO was also bolstered by equally strong statements made by the Chinese government and health authorities in support of Chinese medicine itself. While I am cautious that the promotion of Chinese medicine by the Chinese government, on one level is used as a negotiating tool in global geo-politics, what was actually being said at the top level indicated to me both an understanding of the importance of the traditional theory and practice and a commitment to promoting and supporting it in good faith.
The wording used in the stated goals and strategies for the development of Chinese medicine in China revealed a respect for tradition that was not expected. For example, of four key government stated goals, one was to ‘adhere to innovation on the basis of its own theory’. The speaker went on to detail how traditional theory must not be supplanted by modern science, innovation and evidence-base must be directed by fundamental traditional principles. This rhetoric appeared to be evidenced by new measures such as the introduction of master-apprentice training to run alongside formal education right from the beginning of the 5 year undergraduate degree course.
Not wanting to be too swept up in official rhetoric, I spoke to a few representatives in Chinese medicine from around the world who had moved in these circles for decades. They all concurred that the current support and nuance for Chinese medicine in China is unprecedented in recent times. One doctor from Hong Kong said to me that things had seemed to change after Covid-19 and the messaging and initiatives that had come out of the Chinese government had made him more hopeful since then.
It appears that there are great opportunities opening up with the Chinese health authorities also extending a hand to support the development of Chinese medicine in countries around the world. Research collaborations and exchange programmes were outlined which we will be looking into further to explore if our academic and practitioner community can benefit.
On the second day, the conference split into different rooms, each with a particular forum focus. I was invited to speak at the acupuncture forum which was co-ordinated by the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies, lead by Liu Bao-Yan. He was also there to officially launch his ‘Blue Book of Clinical Research Evidence in Acupuncture and Moxibustion (2015-2024)’. This work compiles some of the best evidence in acupuncture from around the world. It also includes some UK research, most notably contributed to by the late Hugh Macpherson.
I decided to focus my presentation on the subject of how we communicate about acupuncture and Chinese medicine. I talked about how much of the deep inherent logic and wisdom of the medicine is not understood by the majority of the public while most of the public have had some form of acupuncture of Chinese medicine treatment. I suggested that the UK and the BAcC can play its part in this role with the kinds of communications and publications that we develop in the English language. With Acu, EJOM and initiatives like the new Cultivating Tradition podcast, the BAcC can play a key role in not just promoting our medicine in the UK, but collaborating on a global level at the same time.
Initially not knowing what to expect, by the end of the conference I knew that it was absolutely the right decision to attend in person. It was incredibly important to be in the room to see for myself the strong commitments that both the WHO and China are making towards the development of Chinese medicine on a global level. This is an exciting time and it has left us with many connections and threads to follow up on and develop. We will be keeping you updated as things develop!
