Health experts across Africa are calling for the integration of African traditional medicine into national primary healthcare systems, arguing that doing so could significantly improve access to care and accelerate progress toward universal health coverage.

The renewed push comes as the African Union's medicines agency commits to supporting and coordinating continent-wide efforts to regulate, research and mainstream traditional medicine within formal health systems.

Delese Mimi Darko, director general of the African Medicines Agency, said integrating traditional medicine into national health systems requires balancing regulation with respect for indigenous knowledge systems that have existed for centuries.

She added that regulation should focus on protecting patients and building trust rather than restricting the practice of herbal medicine.

Darko said the agency plans to support African countries in developing appropriate frameworks to assess the quality, safety and, where possible, the efficacy of herbal medicines.

She noted that while many countries already regulate traditional medicine at national level, approaches remain fragmented across the continent.

The African Medicines Agency aims to harmonize these standards and establish a continental information repository to improve coordination and facilitate information sharing among African countries.

"We want to move from fragmented practices to more coherent continental approaches," she said, adding that stronger evidence and better documentation would help build confidence in traditional medicine.

The agency also plans to work with regional economic communities to identify priority traditional medicines and support their scientific evaluation through a phased approach. Initial screening and documentation would begin at regional level before selected products undergo more comprehensive scientific studies.

Martins Emeje, co-chair of the World Health Organization's Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine, said that, while evidence on the effectiveness of traditional medicine exists, it remains scattered. He warned that the valuable knowledge risks being lost as custodians of traditional medicine age and pass away.

"If we are truly interested in traditional medicine, responsible governments, funders and organizations including the WHO and the UN agencies must support community-facilitated evidence gathering," he said.

Emeje who also serves as director-general of the Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency, called for a shift away from forcing traditional medicine to conform entirely to allopathic medical procedures, principles and protocols. He argued that Africa should develop its own scientific frameworks that respect indigenous knowledge systems.

He also cautioned against using herbal medicine as the sole definition of traditional medicine, noting that while standardization may be possible for herbal products, traditional medicine practices themselves are shaped by community cultures and therefore cannot be fully uniform.

Ossy Kasilo, board member of the Traditional Complementary and Integrative Healthcare Coalition and former WHO Africa Regional adviser on traditional medicine, said the biggest obstacle to integrating traditional medicine into formal systems is not political will but weak health systems.

She noted that of the 40 African countries that have national policies on traditional medicine, 28 have implementation plans and only 13 have enacted legal frameworks into law.

Kasilo attributed the gap largely to inadequate funding, weak infrastructure and bureaucratic barriers that delay the registration and regulation of traditional medicine products.

Despite these challenges, she said the continent is building on several global and regional frameworks, including the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, which aims to support research, policy development and integration of traditional medicine into health systems.

Njeri emphasized the need for greater investment in community knowledge systems, training opportunities for young practitioners and policies that protect indigenous knowledge while ensuring fair benefit sharing.

She also called for more accessible educational pathways for those interested in working with medicinal plants, noting that current academic routes such as pharmacy or pharmacognosy are often costly and inaccessible to the communities that hold this knowledge.

Njeri said integrating traditional medicine into health systems must be accompanied by stronger protection of indigenous knowledge, improved research funding and greater collaboration between traditional healers, scientists and policymakers.