Although not specified in the survey form, the working definition of an expert committee on TM/CAM is a group convened by the national government for the purpose of reviewing and making policy and technical recommendations on TM/CAM topics.

Member States were asked to indicate whether such a group exists and, if so, the date of its establishment.

The survey response indicates that 43% (61 countries) of the responding Member States have expert committees for TM/CAM (Figure 9).

Map 5. Member States with a national office on TM/CAM

Figure 9. Expert committee on TM/CAM

Of those Member States having expert committees, 53 provided the date of establishment of their national group. Analysis of these data indicates a recent surge in the establishment of these committees. The number of expert committees more than quadrupled during the period 1988-2003 compared with all of the years prior to 1988 (see Figure 10).

Figure 10. Number of Member States with expert committees, by year