Traditional and complementary medicine in Georgia: a 21st-century agenda for safe integration, regulation, and public trust

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.66636/gmj.v1.i3.a2

Keywords:

Traditional medicine, traditional and complementary medicine, Georgia, health policy, regulation, patient safety, pharmacovigilance, food supplements, integrative medicine, public health, WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy

Abstract

Executive Summary: Traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) is widely practiced in Georgia for chronic symptom relief, wellness, and self-care, with nationally documented utilisation rates reflecting both cultural embeddedness and unmet primary-care needs. The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization and examined in a landmark policy analysis by Dutta, represents the most authoritative framework yet adopted for embedding T&CM within evidence-based, people-centred health systems. The December 2025 Delhi Declaration, adopted at the Second WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine in New Delhi, reinforces that patient safety, quality assurance, and evidence generation are non-negotiable prerequisites for any integration agenda.

Since 2016, Georgia has constructed an EU-aligned regulatory framework for food information, nutrition claims, and health claims on supplements, culminating in Decree N360 (2022) and Decree N227 (2024) — substantive advances toward transparent and enforceable market governance. A compliance audit of EU supplement health claims published in Foods (2026) confirms that labelling violations remain prevalent even in high-enforcement environments, underlining that regulatory architecture alone is insufficient without consistent market surveillance. National Georgian studies document high CAM utilisation, clinician education gaps, and weak institutional infrastructure; and a critical structural gap — between traditional and established medicine in communication, referral, records, and pharmacovigilance — remains insufficiently addressed globally and acutely in Georgia. This commentary synthesises the strongest available international evidence, draws lessons from India's landmark AYUSH integration model, identifies Georgia's specific implementation priorities, and proposes a coherent, time-bound, evidence-grounded policy agenda designed to position Georgia as a regional leader in responsible T&CM governance.

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Keywords: traditional and complementary medicine; Georgia; health policy; regulation; patient safety; pharmacovigilance; food supplements; integrative medicine; public health; WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy

References

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2. World Health Organization. Traditional medicine: report to the 152nd Executive Board on implementation of the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023 (EB152/37). Geneva: WHO; 2022. https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB152/B152_37-en.pdf

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5. Government of Georgia. Decree N301 (1 July 2016): Technical Regulations for Providing Consumers with Information about Food; Decree N510 (2016): Nutrition and Health Claims. DCFTA portal. https://dcfta.gov.ge/en/legislation

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Published

08/23/2026

How to Cite

Pkhakadze, G. (2026). Traditional and complementary medicine in Georgia: a 21st-century agenda for safe integration, regulation, and public trust. Georgian Medical Journal, 1(3). https://doi.org/10.66636/gmj.v1.i3.a2

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 3 (2026): Surgical Innovation, Paediatrics, and Environmental Health

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Editorial & Policy Forum

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Copyright (c) 2026 Giorgi Pkhakadze

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