The Second World Health Organization Global Summit on Traditional Medicine: strategic commitments for evidence, integration, and implementation (2025–2034)

The Second World Health Organization (WHO) Global Summit on Traditional Medicine took place in New Delhi, India, from December 17 to 19, 2025.It was jointly organized by the WHO and the Government of India under the theme "Restoring balance: the science and practice of health and wellbeing."This Summit represented a pivotal moment in the global discourse on health systems, uniting ministers, researchers, innovators, Indigenous Peoples, traditional medicine practitioners, and civil society representatives from over 100 countries.Approximately 800 participants attended in person, while 20 000 engaged online, with more than 3000 invitees present at the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.The primary focus of the Summit was on scientific innovation, respectful knowledge exchange, and multistakeholder commitments aimed at accelerating the implementation of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025-2034, which was adopted by the Seventy-Eighth World Health Assembly in 2025.During the Summit, the WHO conducted its inaugural Strategic and Technical Advisory Group (STAG) meeting on traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine, with Prof. Jian-ping Liu attending as the sole representative from Mainland China. 1 The establishment of the WHO STAG reflects the growing global capacity to apply scientific rigor to traditional medicine and represents a significant step toward implementing the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025-2034. 2This new Strategy, which embodies cultural heritage alongside scientific foundations, aims to contribute to universal health coverage (UHC), resilient health systems, inclusive and sustainable economies, and the overall health and well-being of individuals and the planet.In light of global political, legal, and normative frameworks-including the Alma-Ata and Astana Declarations on Primary Health Care; the United Nations General Assembly and WHO resolutions on UHC; the WHO Pandemic Agreement; the World