NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya has pledged to integrate herbal and traditional medicine into its national health system, but the move will be guided by laws and standards that are still under development, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has said.
Speaking in New Delhi during the World Health Organization’s Second Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, Duale said the government aims to ensure patient safety, respect cultural heritage, and advance universal health coverage as it brings traditional medicine into the formal healthcare system.
The summit brought together ministers, scientists, indigenous leaders, and practitioners from more than 100 countries to shape the global future of traditional medicine.
Duale said Kenya recognises the long-standing role of traditional medicine in communities and wants to integrate it in an organised, evidence-based, and safe manner.
“Kenya’s Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) approach prioritises patient safety, scientific evidence, innovation, environmental stewardship and the respectful integration of indigenous knowledge,” Duale said.
He added that Kenya’s Constitution safeguards biodiversity, promotes equitable benefit-sharing, and recognises indigenous knowledge as a pillar of sustainable development.
To operationalise this vision, Duale said the government has established key policy and legal instruments, including the Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine Policy, the Traditional Health Practitioners Bill, the National Research Framewor,k and the Herbalists’ Handbook.
“These instruments are designed to professionalise practice, strengthen safety and quality standard,s and enhance evidence generation,” he said.
Traditional medicine remains widely used in Kenya, particularly in rural areas and informal urban settlements, but most practices operate outside the formal health system with minimal regulation.
The Ministry of Health said oversight of herbal and traditional medicine products is currently undertaken by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, which regulates products from development to market entry using digital systems and expert review committees.
Kenya is also recognised as a Regional Centre of Regulatory Excellence in pharmacovigilance, giving it a leading role in monitoring medicine safety across the region.
Duale said digital tools and artificial intelligence are increasingly being used to improve evaluation processes, transparency, and regulatory decision-making for herbal products.
Beyond healthcare, the government views traditional medicine as an economic opportunity, supported through research, innovation, and partnerships that leverage AI, genomics, and digital platforms.
The long-term plan, he said, is to integrate traditional medicine into primary healthcare through practitioner accreditation, referral systems between traditional healers and hospitals, expanded research, and possible inclusion of some services under the national social health insurance scheme.
The WHO said traditional medicine remains a major source of care globally, with up to 90pc of populations in some member states using it.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said responsible, ethical, and science-based integration could expand access to care at a time when nearly half the world’s population lacks essential health services.
WHO chief scientist Dr Sylvie Briand stressed that integration must be grounded in strong regulation and scientific rigour, while WHO officials noted that despite underpinning fast-growing global industries, traditional medicine receives less than 1pc of global health research funding.
To address this gap, WHO is launching a Traditional Medicine Global Library containing more than 1.6 million scientific records to support research, policy, and regulation, particularly in lower-income countries.
