Legal Status of Traditional Medicine and Complementary/Alternative Medicine: A Worldwide Review
(2001; 200 pages)

Resumen

Various types of traditional medicine (TM) and medical practices referred to as complimentary or alternative medicine (CAM), have being increasingly used in both developing and developed countries. National policies and regulations on TM/CAM could ensure the safety, quality and efficacy of these therapies and products, and function as important steps towards integrative health care systems. However, relatively few countries have developed policies and regulations on TM/CAM so far.

In order to assist Member States in the development of TM/CAM policies and regulations, WHO has published a series of technical guidelines, and reviewed regulations on herbal medicines in the document "Regulatory Situation of Herbal Medicines: a Worldwide Review" (WHO/TRM/98.1) printed in 1998 (also available in French and Spanish).

The present document provides a summary of the legal status of several major practices in TM/CAM from 123 countries, including data on:

The situation as regards the use of TM/CAM;
The regulatory situation of TM/CAM remedies and practitioners;
Health insurance coverage of TM/CAM; and
Education and training of practitioners of TM/CAM.

Índice de contenido

	Acknowledgements
	Foreword
	Introduction
		Terminology
		Widespread systems of traditional and complementary/alternative medicine
		The situation in the use of traditional and complementary/alternative medicine
	Africa
		Angola
		Benin
		Botswana
		Burkina Faso
		Burundi
		Cameroon
		Cape Verde
		Central African Republic
		Chad
		Comoros
		Congo
		Côte d'Ivoire
		Democratic Republic of the Congo
		Equatorial Guinea
		Ethiopia
		Gabon
		Gambia
		Ghana
		Guinea
		Guinea-Bissau
		Kenya
		Lesotho
		Liberia
		Madagascar
		Malawi
		Mali
		Mauritania
		Mauritius
		Mozambique
		Namibia
		Niger
		Nigeria
		Rwanda
		Sao Tome and Principe
		Senegal
		Seychelles
		Sierra Leone
		South Africa
		Swaziland
		Togo
		Uganda
		United Republic of Tanzania
		Zambia
		Zimbabwe
	The Americas
		Argentina
		Bolivia
		Brazil
		Canada
		Chile
		Colombia
		Costa Rica
		Cuba
		Dominican Republic
		Ecuador
		Guatemala
		Honduras
		Jamaica
		Mexico
		Nicaragua
		Panama
		Peru
		United States of America
		Venezuela
	Eastern Mediterranean
		Algeria
		Cyprus
		Djibouti
		Egypt
		Islamic Republic of Iran
		Jordan
		Kuwait
		Pakistan
		Saudi Arabia
		Sudan
		Syrian Arab Republic
		United Arab Emirates
	Europe
		Austria
		Belgium
		Denmark
		Finland
		France
		Germany
		Hungary
		Ireland
		Italy
		Latvia
		Liechtenstein
		Luxembourg
		Malta
		Netherlands
		Norway
		Russian Federation
		Spain
		Sweden
		Switzerland
		Ukraine
		United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
	South-East Asia
		Bangladesh
		Bhutan
		Democratic People's Republic of Korea
		India
		Indonesia
		Myanmar
		Nepal
		Sri Lanka
		Thailand
	Western Pacific
		Australia
		Cambodia
		China
		Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China
		Fiji
		Japan
		Kiribati
		Lao People's Democratic Republic
		Malaysia
		Mongolia
		New Zealand
		Papua New Guinea
		Philippines
		Republic of Korea
		Samoa
		Singapore
		Solomon Islands
		Vanuatu
		Viet Nam
	References
	Annex I. The European Union
		General principles
		Directives on homeopathic products
		Free movement of patients and practitioners and insurance coverage of complementary/alternative medicine products and treatments

Legal Status of Traditional Medicine and Complementary/Alternative Medicine: A Worldwide Review

WHO/EDM/TRM/2001.2
Distr.: General
English only

World Health Organization
Geneva
2001

This document is not a formal publication of the World Health Organization (WHO), and all rights are reserved by the Organization. The document may, however, be freely reviewed, abstracted, reproduced and translated, in part or in whole, but not for sale or for use in conjunction with commercial purposes.

The views expressed in this documents by named authors are solely the responsibility of those authors.