Conservation groups concerned as WHO recognizes traditional Chinese medicine
28 May 2019
The
World Health Organization (WHO) approved the inclusion of traditional
Chinese medicine in the revision of its influential International
Classification of Diseases for the first time on May 25, touching off
worries that the move could drive up demand for body parts of wild
animals.
“As the world’s leading global public health
organisation, the WHO should be well aware that human health is highly
dependent on the vitality of animal populations in the wild and the
ecosystems they support,” Fred Launay, the president and CEO of the
global wild cat conservation organization Panthera, said in a
statement. “Condemning traditional Chinese medicine utilising wild
animal parts is a common sense, win-win move for the wellbeing of
people and wild animals alike.”
The decision, widely expected
for months, occurred during the World Health Assembly in Geneva. Some
400 traditional Chinese medicine diagnoses have been added to the
current volume. Panthera and other organizations acknowledge that many
groups supporting this health care approach no longer advocate the
inclusion of wildlife parts in medications.
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