At the invitation of His Excellency Lei Haichao, Minister of the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, FSM sent a delegation to the 2024 World Health Conference on Traditional Medicine held in Beijing from December 3-4, 2024. The Delegation members from the FSM Department of Health included Secretary Marcus Samo, Chief Pharmacist Resel Elias, Ambassador Vincent Sivas, and First Secretary Johnson Hendrick.
Secretary Samo joined other health ministers on a panel discussion on the role of traditional medicine to strengthen health system development and how it can further improve universal health coverage, particularly in middle to low-income countries. The conference provided opportunity for the FSM delegation to further follow up on bilateral cooperation previously agreed to and to further engage in technical discussion with other partners in the region.
Traditional medicine has always been part of human existence but practiced differently from place to place. The World Health Organization (WHO) regarded traditional medicine as vital component in the delivery of health and well-being. China has been at the frontier of traditional medicine where traditional medicine and Western medicine are integrated within the health delivery system. With technical guidance from WHO, member states are encouraged to assess their regulatory and governance structures and decide how best to address traditional medicine within their setting. While in Beijing, the FSM delegation members held bilateral meeting, visited hospitals, health clinics, and factories where practice and production of traditional medicines are on display.
