BRICS Creates Expert Group on Traditional Medicine
Meeting in India, BRICS health ministers adopted a common framework to strengthen research, safety and evaluation of traditional medicine without automatically validating its effectiveness.
BRICS health ministers adopted a declaration in Chandigarh, India, on 23 and 24 July 2026 that gives traditional, complementary and integrative medicine a dedicated place for the first time. It provides for an expert group to organise cooperation between member states.
Chandigarh ministerial declaration, 24 July 2026.
A framework focused on evidence, not recognition
The text does not recognise the effectiveness of any practice. It commits countries to producing data, harmonising assessment methods and strengthening pharmacovigilance, the monitoring of adverse effects after a product is used.
Clinical trials will need to be registered in registries recognised by WHO.
This requirement is substantive rather than cosmetic: a publicly registered trial can be compared with its original protocol and considered even when its results are negative, limiting selective publication of favourable studies alone.
The initiative is aligned with WHO's global traditional medicine strategy for 2025-2034, which aims to integrate only interventions whose balance of benefits and risks is sufficiently established.
Premature legitimisation?
In an editorial published in June 2026, several British Medical Journal authors warned that overly rapid integration could lend legitimacy to treatments that have not been adequately evaluated. The age or popularity of a practice does not constitute evidence of effectiveness.
This caution does not close the door to research. Many modern medicines derive from natural substances or traditional knowledge.
But the relevant questions remain the same as for any treatment: does it work better than a placebo or existing care, for which patients, at what dose and with what risks?
- BRICS adopted a common framework on traditional medicine on 23 and 24 July 2026.
- An expert group will coordinate research, safety and pharmacovigilance.
- The text does not validate the effectiveness of any practice.
- Transparent trials and independent assessment will remain decisive.