The 3rd World Congress on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) took place on 15–18 October 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It marked the 20th International Congress on TCIM Research and the 17th European Congress on Integrative Medicine and aligned with the release of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, adopted at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly in May 2025. The event brought together researchers from across the globe to discuss innovative solutions for strengthening global public health through TCIM.
The opening session on 15 October featured a statement on behalf of WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, which underscored the growing role of traditional medicine in improving health equity and resilience. The message highlighted that WHO is supporting this effort through the newly adopted WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 and the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC), which “works to bridge ancient wisdom and modern science by advancing research, innovation, standards and data”. The statement concluded with an announcement that the upcoming second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, to be held from 17–19 December 2025 in New Delhi, will introduce new tools to support countries in translating evidence into policy and action.
Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, Director a.i. of the WHO GTMC, shared a pre-recorded video explaining the four objectives of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy: to strengthen the evidence base, ensure quality and safety through regulation, enable integration into health systems, and foster collaboration and partnerships. Dr Kuruvilla reiterated that GTMC’s mission is to help countries and partners translate this vision into action and impact.
