Tag: WHO

The World Health Organisation’s decision to launch its first-ever Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (STAG-TM) has resonated far beyond Geneva and New Delhi. For Nigeria, it marks a moment of validation—and opportunity—in a field long practised by millions but historically side-lined by global health governance.

Announced last week, December 18, the new advisory group is central to implementing the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, an agenda designed to bring scientific rigour, policy coherence and regulatory clarity to a rapidly expanding sector of health care. Traditional medicine, WHO officials acknowledge, is no longer peripheral. It is embedded in cultural identity and increasingly forms the backbone of primary health care systems, particularly in Africa and other parts of the Global South. “This is a pivotal moment for traditional medicine,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Systems, Access and Data. “It embodies cultural heritage and national health identities, and increasingly, it constitutes a vital component of primary health care strategies.”

For Nigeria, the symbolism is especially strong. One of the two newly appointed co-chairs of the advisory group is Prof Martins Emeje, Director-General of the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NNMDA). His appointment places Nigeria at the centre of global decision-making on how traditional medicine is researched, regulated and integrated into formal health systems. WHO Chief Scientist, Dr Sylvie Briand, explained that the rapid growth of traditional and complementary medicine has not been matched by strong evidence standards or sustainable governance. “The STAG was created to close this gap. It is not an academic exercise, but a formal WHO advisory mechanism providing independent, strategic and scientific guidance,” she said.

The 19-member advisory group, selected through an open global process, will guide WHO on research priorities, technical standards, integration into national health systems and policy options for Member States. Its inaugural meeting, held in New Delhi on December 17 alongside the second WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit, identified urgent priorities that mirror Nigeria’s long-standing challenges and ambitions: evidence generation, preservation of indigenous knowledge, digital innovation, regulation, and community engagement.

For decades, Nigeria has grappled with how to harness its vast traditional medicine ecosystem—rich in biodiversity and indigenous knowledge—while addressing concerns around safety, efficacy and standardisation. The elevation of Prof Emeje, a long-time advocate of evidence-based natural medicine and pharmaceutical innovation, signals a shift from informal acceptance to structured global recognition. Beyond symbolism, Emeje said the implications are practical.

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Emeje said the significance of the WHO’s action lies in the global attention it places on Nigeria, noting that the world is watching, expecting, believing in, and trusting the country to provide leadership on the global discussion table in this critical area. He described the development as further evidence that the WHO is a highly inclusive institution, with demonstrable policies aimed at promoting the health and wellbeing of all people. According to him, the decision has also strengthened his personal resolve to continue serving Nigeria and the global community without expectation of reward. “This action by the WHO further fuels my passion to serve my country and the world selflessly,” he said.

The NNMDA DG added that traditional medicine should not be framed as a competing or alternative system within Africa’s healthcare landscape. “Traditional medicine is not an alternative to any other form of medicine in Africa—at least for now,” he stated, stressing the need for complementarity, scientific validation and responsible integration into existing health systems.

As WHO moves to draft the STAG-TM workplan for 2026–2027 and establish thematic sub-groups, Nigeria stands to influence global norms that could shape funding, research collaboration, intellectual property protection and the integration of traditional medicine into universal health coverage frameworks. In a country where millions still rely on herbal and traditional remedies as first-line care, the WHO’s move—and Nigeria’s prominent role within it—suggests that traditional medicine is no longer being asked to justify its existence. Instead, it is being challenged to meet global standards, while finally being given a seat at the table where those standards are set.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised fresh concern over the scale of financial hardship caused by healthcare costs across Africa, warning that millions are being pushed deeper into poverty because they cannot afford basic medical treatment.

The latest global Universal Health Coverage (UHC) report shows that in 2022, more than 423 million people in Africa faced financial hardship due to out-of-pocket health spending, with over 384 million pushed into or further into poverty.

Africa also accounts for over 20 percent of the world’s population experiencing financial distress from medical bills and nearly a quarter of global health-driven poverty.

Out-of-pocket payments still dominate health financing across the continent. In 31 countries, they make up more than a quarter of total health expenditure; in 11 countries, more than half; and in two countries, more than 70 percent.

According to the organization, these pressures force families into agonizing choices that undermine well-being and widen inequality.

Marking Universal Health Coverage Day 2025, the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Mohamed Janabi, in his message on Friday, said the figures reflect a crisis that demands urgent political action.

“Today, as we mark Universal Health Coverage Day under the banner Unaffordable health costs? We’re sick of it; we are reminded that health is not a privilege for the few. It is a fundamental human right and should be accessible to all,” he said.

He warned that for too many people, the cost of care determines whether they seek treatment, delay it, or avoid it completely, noting, “These are not statistics. They are the lived realities of households selling assets, postponing care, or slipping deeper into vulnerability.”

He noted that financial barriers continue to pit essential care against basic survival needs, forcing impossible choices between care and food, between medicines and school fees, between dignity and survival.

Despite these challenges, Janabi pointed to areas of progress, noting that between 2015 and 2022/23, the African Region recorded improvements across all components of the UHC Service Coverage Index, including maternal and child health, infectious and non-communicable diseases, and access to care.

He added that Africa achieved the world’s strongest gains in NCD service coverage, largely due to a decline in tobacco use. “These advances show what is possible with sustained commitment,” he said.

However, he cautioned that progress remains uneven and that financial protection is still the region’s most persistent barrier, stressing that women, children, older persons, and rural households continue to bear the highest burden of health costs.

“High health costs continue to undermine efforts to reduce poverty, prevent disability, and increase survival,” he said.

Calling for urgent reforms, Dr Janabi urged governments, partners, and civil society to accelerate efforts to make healthcare affordable for everyone.

He said priorities should include increasing domestic investment in health, expanding universal prepayment and risk-pooling systems, strengthening primary healthcare, and investing in the health workforce, facilities, supply chains, and data systems to guarantee not just access to care but access to quality care.

He also called for stronger accountability and the use of disaggregated data to ensure resources reach underserved communities.

“With new regional and global evidence in hand, 2025 offers a pivotal opportunity to accelerate financial protection reforms and advance health for all,” he said, adding that the WHO African Region stands ready to support governments with policy guidance, technical expertise, and data-driven decision-making.

Dr Janabi urged African countries to move from commitment to concrete implementation, adding, “Let’s turn commitment into action. Let’s build resilient, inclusive, and equitable health systems that shield people from financial hardship – systems that uphold dignity, expand opportunity, and ensure that every person can exercise their right to health, without financial barriers.”

He said this year’s UHC Day reaffirms a collective continental pledge, “On UHC Day 2025, we renew our shared promise, ‘Health for All. No One Left Behind.”

Despite two decades of global decline in tobacco use, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised the alarm over a fresh wave of nicotine addiction, this time driven by e-cigarettes and other emerging tobacco products targeting the youth. A new WHO global report reveals that while the number of tobacco users has dropped from 1.38 billion in 2000 to 1.2 billion in 2024, a significant 27 per cent reduction, one in every five adults worldwide remains addicted.

Even more worrying, over 100 million people are now using e-cigarettes, including 15 million adolescents aged 13–15, who are, on average, nine times more likely to vape than adults. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the situation as a “fightback” by the tobacco industry, which is deploying sleek marketing tactics and new nicotine products, from e-cigarettes to heated tobacco and nicotine pouches, to recruit the next generation of users. “Millions are quitting thanks to tobacco control efforts,” he said. “But the tobacco industry is fighting back with new products aggressively targeting young people. Governments must act faster and stronger in implementing proven tobacco control policies.”

For the WHO Director of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention, Dr Etienne Krug, “E-cigarettes are fuelling a new wave of nicotine addiction. They are marketed as harm reduction but, in reality, are hooking kids on nicotine earlier and risk undermining decades of progress.” The report shows that women are leading the global quit revolution. Between 2010 and 2024, the number of female tobacco users fell sharply from 277 million to 206 million, reducing global prevalence among women from 11 per cent to 6.6per cent. Women met the global 30 per cent reduction target for 2025 five years early, in 2020.

Men, however, lag behind. With nearly one billion still using tobacco, men account for over 80 per cent of global users. Their prevalence dropped from 41.4per cent in 2010 to 32.5per cent in 2024, but at a pace too slow to meet global targets before 2031. WHO’s analysis presents a mixed picture of global tobacco use. South-East Asia recorded the most progress, with male tobacco use nearly halved, from 70 per cent in 2000 to 37 per cent in 2024, accounting for over half of the global decline. The Americas followed with a 36 per cent relative reduction, bringing prevalence down to 14 per cent.

In contrast, Africa recorded the lowest prevalence globally at 9.5 per cent, but population growth continues to push up the absolute number of users. Europe now stands out as the world’s highest-prevalence region, with 24.1 per cent of adults still using tobacco. European women also have the highest female tobacco use globally, at 17.4 per cent. The Eastern Mediterranean region reported a prevalence rate of 18 per cent, with some countries showing rising trends, while the Western Pacific region showed the slowest progress, 22.9 per cent of adults still use tobacco, with men in the region recording the world’s highest prevalence at 43.3 per cent.

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WHO is calling for urgent action from governments to step up the fight against tobacco and nicotine products. The global health organisation recommends countries adopt and enforce the MPOWER package, a set of proven tobacco control measures under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Key actions include raising tobacco taxes, banning advertising and sponsorships, closing regulatory loopholes for emerging products like e-cigarettes, and expanding cessation services to help millions quit. “Nearly 20 per cent of adults still use tobacco and nicotine products. We cannot let up now,” warned Dr Jeremy Farrar, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. “The world has made gains, but stronger, faster action is the only way to beat the tobacco epidemic.”