Tanzania and India have signed a landmark agreement to deepen cooperation in the health sector, with a strong focus on developing traditional medicine, as the World Health Organization (WHO) commended Tanzania for wide-ranging reforms under President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in New Delhi by Tanzania’s Minister for Health, Mr Mohamed Mchengerwa, and India’s Minister of Health responsible for Traditional Medicine (AYUSH), Mr Jagat Prakash Nadda, during the Second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine held at the Bharat Mandapam International Convention Centre.
The signing was witnessed by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who praised Tanzania for the progress it has made in strengthening its health sector and reaffirmed the UN agency’s commitment to continue supporting the country’s efforts to promote safe, effective and well-regulated traditional medicine.
Under the agreement, Tanzania and India will cooperate in priority areas including institutional capacity building, human resource development, research, regulation and the safe use of traditional medicine, with the broader aim of strengthening healthcare systems and accelerating progress towards Universal Health Coverage.
Speaking after the signing, Mr Mchengerwa said the MoU marked an important step in Tanzania’s efforts to modernise and professionalise traditional medicine while unlocking its economic potential.
He said the partnership with India, a global leader in Ayurveda and other traditional health systems, would help Tanzania enhance skills, improve standards and attract investment into the sector.
He said Tanzania is transforming traditional medicine from inherited indigenous knowledge into scientifically validated, digitally protected and commercially viable products that can contribute to improved health outcomes locally and globally.
He stressed that when traditional medicine is protected by law, strengthened by science, enabled by technology and guided by a business-oriented approach, it can become a key pillar in building healthier societies.
Mr Mchengerwa noted that traditional medicine remains a critical component of primary healthcare in Tanzania, with about 60 per cent of citizens relying on traditional health practitioners either before or alongside modern medical services.
He said this reality underscores the need for strong scientific evidence, effective regulation and quality assurance.
To support this, he said Tanzania has put in place a solid legal and regulatory framework through the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act No. 23 of 2002, implemented by the Traditional and Alternative Health Practices Council.
He added that the government continues to strengthen institutions responsible for safety and quality, including the Tanzania Medicines and Medical Devices Authority (TMDA), the Government Chemist Laboratory Authority (GCLA) and the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), to ensure products meet international standards.
He said Tanzania has already begun integrating traditional medicine into the formal healthcare system as part of its Universal Health Coverage agenda, with services now available in public hospitals. Currently, 27 approved traditional medicine products are being used in the treatment of both communicable and non-communicable diseases.
The minister said the government is also developing national curricula for traditional medicine, training both conventional medical doctors and traditional practitioners, and strengthening collaboration between the two systems.
He added that beyond healthcare, traditional medicine is expected to drive innovation, job creation and economic growth.
To date, 141 traditional medicine products have been registered in Tanzania, more than 90 per cent of which are produced by local small-scale entrepreneurs.
The government, he said, is promoting public-private partnerships to strengthen medicinal plant cultivation, processing and manufacturing, improve production quality, expand market access and boost exports.
Mr Mchengerwa said Tanzania will continue to promote cooperation in technology transfer and innovation to ensure locally produced traditional medicine products are competitive in global markets. On the sidelines of the summit, he held discussions with several pharmaceutical investors aimed at attracting investments with broad benefits for the country.
The summit brought together health ministers from more than 100 countries, global health experts and stakeholders, and was officially closed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In his address, Mr Modi stressed the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and community-based traditional knowledge, and highlighted the role of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in documenting, validating and safeguarding traditional medicine, while emphasising that technology should strengthen rather than replace traditional healers.