31 August
Commemoration of the African Traditional Medicine Day coincides with the date (31 August 2000) on which the ministers of health adopted the relevant resolution at the 50th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
In 2009 the seventh African Traditional Medicine Day was celebrated under the theme “Traditional Medicine and Patient Safety” in recognition of the importance of patient safety and the global focus on ensuring overall quality of care.
The concept of patient safety refers to processes or structures which, when applied, reduce the probability of adverse events resulting from interaction with the health-care system. Patient safety aims at making health care safer for patients and health care providers. Populations throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America use traditional medicine to meet their health care needs.
For more information: Traditional Medicine in the WHO African Region
