ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the CAM/TM and its new interactions with and integration into PHC as global health phenomena, and simultaneously as particular and local phenomena or health geographies. In the Alma-Ata Declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1978, important principles of PHC were identified, including equity, community involvement/participation, intersectorality, appropriateness of technology and affordable costs. In non-Western countries PHC is most often delivered as it has been for generations: in the form of traditional medicines passed down orally, often with a long history, and including both specific health care practices and indigenous knowledges. Traditional medicine practitioners and birth attendants are found in most countries. They are often members of the local community, culture and traditions, and continue to have high social standing in many places, exerting considerable influence on local health practices. In contrast to multidisciplinary and hospital-based integrative care, interdisciplinary integrative group practices attempt to achieve a high level of integration.
