On 29-30 May 2021, the 3rd World Traditional Medicine Forum (WTMF), co-organized by the World Traditional Medicine Forum (WTMF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), was held online. On 29 May, Mr. Ramon, Vice President of WTMF, delivered a welcome speech on behalf of Mr. Dong Zhilin, President of WTMF and the organizer. The Deputy Director-General of WHO, Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, gave a speech on the occasion of the opening ceremony, Mr. Zhang Qi, Head of Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine of WHO, Mr. Wu Zhendou, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China, Dr. Rajesh Kotecha, Deputy Minister of Traditional Medicine of India, Mr. Arman Zargaran, Vice Dean for International Affairs, Office of Persian and Complementary Medicines of Ministry of Health and Medical Education and Assistant Professor of Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Persian Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran; Mrs Yvonne Ayongo Adu-Boahen, Director of Clinical Trials Department, Food and Drug Administration, Accra, Ghana, Prof. Noel Wannang, Chairman of the Research Committee on Covid-19 and Other Infectious Diseases in West Africa, and other WHO officials and government representatives attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. The opening ceremony was co-chaired by Yang Yuyang, Vice-Chair of the World Traditional Medicine Forum, Guo Chunbiao, Secretary-General, and Ms. Beate Lendt from Shenzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Netherlands.

Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, Deputy Director-General of WHO began by congratulating the Forum in her speech. Deputy Director-General Jakab noted that traditional medicine is essential to human healthcare and that more countries are legislating to recognize and regulate traditional medicine. The World Health Organization (WHO) advocates international cooperation on traditional medicine and has developed a series of documents on traditional medicine norms & standards, guidelines and tools to support the integration of traditional medicine into health systems particularly in primary healthcare . The objectives of the WTMF are in line with the WHO strategy on traditional medicine, and we hope that the WTMF will become a platform for exchanging information on traditional medicine from all over the world, and make the contribution of traditional medicine to achieve the WHO goal of universal health coverage. Finally, Deputy Director General Dr. Jakab wished the 3rd World Traditional Medicine Forum Conference a great success.

Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, Deputy Director-General of WHO began by congratulating the Forum in her speech

Mr. Wu Zhendou, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China, delivered a speech pointing out that in recent years, the Chinese government has placed the work of Chinese medicine in a more prominent position. The General Office of the State Council has issued several policies and measures on accelerating the development of Chinese medicine with special characteristics, requiring further implementation of the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Promoting the Inheritance and

Innovative Development of Chinese Medicine and the spirit of the National Conference on Chinese Medicine to promote the high-quality development of Chinese medicine. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, China has used a combination of Chinese and Western medicine to prevent and control the epidemic and achieved strategic anti-epidemic results. At the same time, TCM has actively participated in the prevention and control of the global epidemic. The World Traditional Medicine Forum, registered in the Netherlands, has more than 8,000 members from 80 countries and regions around the world, and the organization has been committed to promoting the cause of traditional medicine in a comprehensive manner for many years and has played an active role, said Director General Wu Zhendou. It is of great practical significance to promote the mutual appreciation of Eastern and Western civilizations and to promote countries to value and actively play the role of traditional medicine. Director Wu raised three points of hope: First, to give full play to the unique advantages of traditional medicine and help international cooperation in combating the epidemic. China is willing to continue to share the experience and practices of traditional medicine in fighting the epidemic with all parties, and actively participate in international cooperation in traditional medicine against the epidemic to help overcome the epidemic. Second, to promote the development of traditional medicine and enhance the health and well-being of people from all countries. We hope that through this World Traditional Medicine Forum, all parties can better promote the development of traditional medicine in the world. Third, deepen cooperation in traditional medicine and build a community of human health. China is willing to further strengthen cooperation with the World Health Organization and relevant countries in the field of traditional medicine, take the participation of traditional medicine in responding to public health emergencies as an entry point, actively carry out joint research and development of traditional medicine, provide more solutions, and jointly build a community of human health and wellness.

Mr. Zhang Qi, Head of Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, delivered a report on the theme of "Implementation of WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023", while 43 experts and scholars in the field of traditional and complementary medicine from 30 countries around the world discussed and exchanged views on the theme of traditional medicine in eight topics, including theories, research, clinical experiences and scientific achievements of traditional and complementary medicine in different countries. Many participants shared their experiences in the application of traditional medicine in combating COVID-19 virus infection and complications.

At the closing ceremony on 30 May, Mr. Zhang Qi of WHO delivered his concluding remarks. He firstly thanked the 1383 representatives of traditional medicine from 108 countries in 6 WHO regions for participating in this forum. He also spoke highly of the outcomes of the conference. He said that the WHO Deputy Director-General delivered the opening address along with senior government officials from countries in the regions. Throughout the Forum, participants engaged in thematic discussions on a well-designed agenda and different focuses, including the use of knowledge and approaches from traditional, complementary and integrative medicine in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, with a rich exchange of presentations and information on specialized technical aspects. With 43 speakers from 30 countries representing several different forms of traditional and complementary medicine, the Forum made significant progress in covering different types of traditional and complementary medicine. This was the first time that WHO and the World Traditional Medicine Forum co-organized this forum. The objectives of

this Forum are in line with the objectives of the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2019-2023. Mr. Zhang Qi was very pleased to congratulate the success of the 3rd World Forum on Traditional Medicine and sincerely thanked all participants, especially the Forum Co-Chairs and speakers, for their important contributions to this Forum. He especially thanked the organizing committee of this Forum for their hard and excellent work in the past months for this conference, without which this Forum could not have been a success. He concluded with three fervent hopes for the World Traditional Medicine Forum: firstly, to further develop its role as acomprehensive and high-quality platform, uniting as wide as possible professional organizations, healthcare providers and partners in the field of traditional and complementary medicine, in order to represent the true diversity of the traditional and complementary medicine community. Second, to connect and coordinate different forms of traditional and complementary medicine to explore common ground, build consensus, and promote collaboration towards the same goal. Finally, to strengthen relevant research and information exchange in the field of traditional and complementary medicine, to enhance training and capacity building, and to organize the development of norms and standards. WHO will continue to strengthen its successful collaboration with the World Traditional Medicine Forum.

Finally, Chen Yemeng, Vice President of the World Traditional Medicine Forum, declared the 3rd World Traditional Medicine Forum a success! We look forward to seeing fellow delegates from around the world again in Malaysia next May!

This conference is the first time that the World Traditional Medicine Forum works together with WHO. The convening of this forum at this special time when COVID-19 epidemic is ravaging the world highlights WHO's support and importance to traditional medicine.

For more information about the conference, please visit the Forum website (English) www.worldtmf.org

Conference website (English) www.wtmforum.com