Background:
A wide range of practices not historically associated with biomedicine constitute traditional, complementary and integrative health care (TCIH) and are prevalent in all cultures across the globe. The 2018 Declaration of Astana on primary health care acknowledges the need to include traditional and complementary medicine knowledge and technologies in the delivery of primary health care. The World Health Assembly has also called member states to integrate TCIH into national healthcare systems, providing the base for the development of international frameworks such as the World Health Organization’s Traditional Medicine Strategy, the framework on integrated, people-centred health services and self-health care, among others. The inclusion of TCIH of international agreements governing public health is significant, however member states have noted difficulties in implementation and insufficient guidance to assist appropriate integration of TCIH into their national health services, while ensuring its quality, safety and efficacy. This is compounded by the fact that to date there has been little attention on developing a public health agenda around TCIH. TCIH holds many potential challenges and opportunities for addressing current and future public health concerns at local, regional and global levels. This workshop will facilitate an inclusive debate amongst all participants regarding the necessity and benefits of advancing a critical public health agenda focused upon TCIH. Maximizing the potential of TCIH approaches, minimizing risks, and understanding how they can synergistically intersect with biomedical perspectives is required to ensure the sustainability of health systems and the achievement of the Astana Declaration’s goals and SDG Goal 3. The workshop will follow an innovative mix of brief introductory presentations and town-hall style discussions/Q & A format whereby presenters will introduce brief overviews of multi-disciplinary perspectives upon this topic on issues such as recognition and regulation of traditional knowledge, medical pluralism, regional perspectives from Africa and Latin America, and Indigenous and migrant health perspectives. Participants will be able to question and discuss the various disciplinary perspectives, opportunities and next steps for the public health agenda of TCIH.

Objectives:
The workshop aims to help instigate and advance critical public health thinking around TCIH, how it can contribute to our understanding of pressing global health challenges, and how issues of TCIH safety, quality, equity and effectiveness can be addressed. Workshop participants will have learned the essential features of a critical public health approach to TCIH as well as being introduced to the fundamental issues, opportunities and challenges of investigating this topic at the local, national, regional, and global levels.

Key questions:
* What are the key and emerging areas of focus for developing a critical public health agenda on TCIH for health promotion and maintenance, disease management, and rehabilitation that manifest? * What multidisciplinary approaches and multilevel collaborations are needed to achieve a critical public health agenda for TCIH? * What collaborative platforms, such as the creation of a TCIH Working Group at the WFPHA, are fundamental to advance a global critical public health agenda, facilitate dialogue, exchanges, and collaboration among stakeholders of the several world regions to ensure safety, quality and efficacy when integrating TCIH?