Authors : Samir Bhattacharya | Monojit Das
Expert SpeakRaisina Debates
Published on Aug 29, 2026
India’s engagement with Africa on traditional medicine could move from shared heritage towards a shared ecosystem of research, regulation, manufacturing and skills development, deepening South-South scientific cooperation
At the 16th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting, held on 23–24 July 2026 under India’s chairmanship, traditional medicine (TM) received formal recognition for the first time in BRICS health cooperation. The Health Ministerial Declaration agreed to establish a BRICS expert working group under the BRICS Health Track to strengthen dialogue, cooperation, and knowledge-sharing on traditional medicine. It also called for joint research, including multi-country studies, sharing research methods and experiences, and documenting successful practices.
The Declaration stressed the need to build stronger evidence on the safety and effectiveness of Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) through clinical trials and scientific research. It also encouraged cooperation on quality standards, safety, toxicity testing, and monitoring of possible side effects. BRICS countries were further encouraged to register traditional-medicine clinical trials in differentWorld Health Organization (WHO) -recognised registries.
A particularly forward-looking element of the agreement is its strong emphasis on digital innovation. BRICS countries pledged cooperation on digital knowledge platforms, repositories, and databases relating to TCIM, including engagement with initiatives such as the WHO’s Traditional Medicine Global Library. The Declaration also supports interoperability, knowledge-sharing mechanisms, and the application of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to TCIM research, education, and healthcare delivery.
The WHO recognises traditional medicine as an important part of people’s health and wellbeing across cultures. WHO’s Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 places evidence, safety, regulation, and integration with health systems at the centre of the global debate. WHO established the Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC) in 2022, in Gujarat, India, with foundational support from the Government of India (GoI).
Despite their widespread use in healthcare, traditional medicines have largely remained framed as cultural heritage rather than as a field for scientific and economic cooperation.
Yet, despite their widespread use in healthcare, traditional medicines have largely remained framed as cultural heritage rather than as a field for scientific and economic cooperation. India’s recognition of TM as a formal area of BRICS health cooperation could help shift this approach towards building evidence, standards, research networks, and innovation around it. This creates an opening to extend the same agenda beyond BRICS, particularly through deeper cooperation with African countries, where traditional medicine is also widely practised.
For Africa, this presents an opportunity that extends well beyond Ayurveda or herbal remedies. If India and African countries can build a shared ecosystem of research, regulation, education, manufacturing, and innovation in TM, this would create a new example of South-South scientific cooperation, economic diplomacy, and local industrial development.
Traditional Medicine Enters the Global Health Agenda
The potential for cooperation between India and Africa on TM is considerable. In addition to its substantial natural-resource base, India also brings institutional capabilities through Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy, as well as pharmaceutical companies, universities, and research institutions. In 2014, to promote Indian systems of medicine, the Government of India (GoI) established a new Ministry called the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy (AYUSH).
For India, Africa represents not only a mature market for its TM products, but also an opportunity for co-creation and learning from African experiences.
Similar to India, many parts of Africa are already well-versed in traditional medicine. The WHO recognises African traditional medicine’s important contributions to the continent’s health and wellbeing. Further, since 2003, WHO has commemorated August 31 as African Traditional Medicine Day (ATMD). Therefore,for India, Africa represents not only a mature market for its TM products, but also an opportunity for co-creation and learning from African experiences.
Building an India-Africa Traditional Medicine Ecosystem
Currently, more than 40 African nations have developed national traditional medicine strategies, with 28 of them having implementation plans and 13 having enacted legal frameworks. India could establish joint research centres focused on traditional knowledge. Joint clinical-research networks, shared laboratories, and ethically reviewed trials can provide the scientific credibility traditional medicine increasingly requires.
Regulation constitutes another building block. Traditional-medicine markets often suffer from inconsistent standards governing raw materials, manufacturing, dosage, practitioner training, and clinical evidence. India and African regulators could begin by developing common principles for quality, purity, safety, traceability, and manufacturing. Gradual continent-wide harmonisation would not only facilitate India’s engagement with African markets, but also make legitimate cross-border trade across Africa easier.
Medicinal plants represent a considerable economic opportunity in this partnership. Africa’s biodiversity and indigenous knowledge could complement India’s experience in cultivation, formulation, and processing. Joint programmes could support medicinal-plant cultivation, botanical research, and community-based processing, enabling both regions to move higher up the value chain. India’s engagement in this field would help Africa shift from an extractive economy to one grounded in intellectual-property protection and transparent benefit sharing.
Education, meanwhile, could provide a foundation for longer-term institutional cooperation, building on India’s existing scholarship architecture. The 2026–27 India-Africa Maitri Scholarship Scheme offered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) provides 1,503 slots, while separate AYUSH scholarship arrangements provide foreign students with opportunities to pursue disciplines including Ayurveda. India could build on this by creating a dedicated Africa-focused traditional-medicine scholarship.
Wellness tourism offers another area of cooperation. India’s experience, particularly in Kerala, provides a potential model for combining supervised Ayurvedic services, yoga, nutrition, and preventive healthcare. Advanced Indian medical institutions, such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), have worked with African institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic and could eventually establish regional centres in some African countries. The private sector could play a key role in this regard. An India-Africa Traditional Medicine Fund could help finance such initiatives.
From Traditional Knowledge to Shared Capacity
However, several challenges need to be addressed. Evidence remains uneven across thousands of traditional practices, while some treatments may carry risks. Scientific evaluation is particularly complicated when therapies involve multi-ingredient formulations or holistic approaches. Regulatory fragmentation across African countries creates another obstacle. Finally, African communities should participate in the higher-value stages of production, rather than remain suppliers of inexpensive raw materials.
Together, India and Africa can transform traditional medicine from a cultural exchange into a broader economic and scientific partnership.
Therefore, India’s traditional-medicine engagement with Africa should be driven by local manufacturing, technology transfer, co-owned research, skills development, and community benefit sharing. India’s leadership through the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre and its broader Global South diplomacy provides useful platforms. Together, India and Africa can transform traditional medicine from a cultural exchange into a broader economic and scientific partnership.This could also provide a basis for a new South-South knowledge economy, enabling India and Africa to translate their shared heritage into greater institutional capacity and economic opportunity.
Samir Bhattacharyais a Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation.
Dr Monojit Dasis a Member, Armed Forces Tribunal (Principal Bench), Bar Association New Delhi and Honorary Advisor, IADN, formerly associated with ICCR as a Nodal Officer.
The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.
Authors
Samir Bhattacharya
Dr. Samir Bhattacharya is an Associate Fellow at Observer Research Foundation (ORF), where he works on geopolitics with particular reference to Africa in the changing …
Monojit Das
Dr Monojit Das is a Member, Armed Forces Tribunal (Principal Bench), Bar Association New Delhi and Honorary Advisor, IADN, formerly associated with ICCR as a …
