The Statement given by EUROCAM
EUROCAM, representing 60,000 organised patients/citizens, 250 national associations and a substantial part of the 400,000 doctors, veterinarians and practitioners in the sector of Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) across Europe, welcomes the Commission’s Roadmap towards a Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe.
For more details about T&CM, please refer to the WHO global report on Traditional and Complementary Medicine 2019.
Currently, one in two EU citizens uses T&CM as part of their healthcare. They would like to see increased integration of T&CM into healthcare systems. In addition, T&CM can offer a significant contribution to meet the current challenges in the health sector, such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), increasing prevalence of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and soaring costs. EUROCAM therefore aims at having the best of conventional medicine and T&CM thoroughly integrated into healthcare schemes for the benefit of European citizens.
T&CM medicinal systems can substantially contribute to the overall goal of the strategy, which is to help to ensure Europe´s supply of safe and affordable medicines to meet patient´s needs and support the EU pharmaceutical industry to remain an innovator and world leader. They are capable to ensure greater access and availability of pharmaceuticals to patients because established production methods exist throughout Europe which are only limited by lack of knowledge of patients and counterproductive regulations or application of regulations. They offer pharmaceuticals in a yet undiscovered variety by using only natural ingredients and are reasonably priced.
The demand for T&CM medicinal systems is constantly growing in Europe as well as abroad and concerted action supported by the EU will not only meet the demand but create new possibilities of sharing existing and new developed resources.
T&CM medicines - depend on natural ingredients, knowledge and simple technology to produce cost-efficient medicines (affordable). - are already produced in the EU, mostly if not completely by small or medium sized companies. Nevertheless, they are part of the “health industry”. High standard products rooted in the complementary, alternative and/or traditional medicinal systems have an outstanding prospect of strengthening the position of the EU in health matters.
T&CM medicinal systems combine prevention, cure, cost-efficiency and sustainability and are privileged to become a pillar of the aspired holistic health system and infrastructure in Europe and meet the goals of Art. 162 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. But they need perception, recognition and support.