The World Health Organization (WHO) is moving forward with the Traditional Medicine Global Library (TMGL) to systematize a database of knowledge and evidence to inform policies, standards and regulatory frameworks for safe, cost-effective and equitable use. Coordinated with BIREME, the Library aims to consolidate and disseminate knowledge on Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicines (TCIM) to strengthen national health policies.
Development of the portal mock-up
One of the most significant recent milestones in the development of the TMGL is the creation of the portal’s mock-up. This structural outline will provide the basis for the global instance of the library and will include regional instances to meet the specific needs of different regions of the world. In other words, each regional office of the World Health Organization will have its own information structure within the Global Library. These are: African Region (AFRO); Region of the Americas (PAHO/AMRO); South-East Asia Region (SEARO); European Region (EURO); Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) and Western Pacific Region (WPRO).
Verônica Abdala, the project’s technical focal point at BIREME, highlights the global group’s concern to ensure that all WHO regions are represented in the new library. “During a recent meeting, we emphasized the importance of getting feedback from the regional focal points to ensure that the regional instances of the library are adapted to local specificities”, she shares. The first version of the mock-up will be presented to the coordination group at the end of July, marking an important step in the achievement of this global resource, reinforced João Paulo Souza, Director of BIREME and general coordinator of the project, in an exchange with the technical focal points.
Rapid review of the literature on digital sources
In parallel with the development of the portal, the TMGL team is in the final stages of preparing a rapid review article on digital sources. This document aims to map and analyze the databases, repositories, digital platforms, libraries, journals and other information sources dedicated to storing scientific information and knowledge on traditional, indigenous, complementary and integrative health practices (TICIM). The rapid review will support the identification of databases and digital sources that can be integrated into the WHO global database, ensuring that the library is a comprehensive and accessible knowledge repository.
Content registry for the TMGL collection
Content registry for the TMGL collection is already underway, following the identification and selection of databases, repositories, journals and reference documents. Moreover, content presented at important international events is being registered, such as the WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine held in Gandhinagar, India, in August 2023, and the WHO Global Technical Coordination Meeting on Traditional Medicine, held in New Delhi, India, in March 2024.
“These events, which brought together experts from all over the world to share knowledge and discuss advances in TCIM, provided a wealth of information for the library,” explained Veronica Abdala, who attended the Technical Meeting in 2024. BIREME was also represented by its director, João Paulo Souza, at the first WHO Summit on this subject, in 2023.
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