Cultivating Resilience: The Strategic Role of TCM Education in Advancing the One Health Approach in Europe

The education and training of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners and the broader health workforce represent a vital catalyst for building health system resilience and operationalizing the One Health approach across Europe. By effectively bridging traditional knowledge with modern scientific evidence, quality education creates a multidisciplinary workforce equipped to maintain essential health services and respond effectively to complex and evolving public health challenges.

The critical role of education in this domain is supported by several key considerations:

1. Driving a Paradigm Shift towards One Health The One Health approach demands a fundamental change in thinking and practice — a shift that must begin with education at all levels. Traditional Chinese Medicine is inherently holistic, emphasizing the profound interconnections between human health, the environment, and broader ecological systems. This perspective aligns seamlessly with the integrative and ecological principles of One Health.

• Systems Thinking: TCM education cultivates systems thinking and an understanding of complexity, which are now recognized as essential core competencies for addressing real-world One Health challenges.

• Transdisciplinary Collaboration: Well-designed training programs prepare scientists, clinicians, and policymakers to work across disciplinary and sectoral boundaries, enabling the genuine integration of human, animal, and environmental health.

2. Strengthening Health System Resilience through Workforce Capacity A resilient health system is built upon a competent, skilled, and committed workforce.

• Workforce Development: The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 rightly prioritizes the education, training, and accreditation of traditional medicine practitioners to ensure they can deliver safe, effective, and integrated care within national health systems.

• Primary Health Care Foundation: Investing in the training of the primary health care workforce remains one of the most cost-effective strategies for achieving long-term health security. Integrating TCM education into primary care curricula expands accessible and affordable care options while ensuring continuity of services even during crises.

• International Partnerships and Innovation: Experience from crisis-affected regions has shown that international collaboration and flexible e-learning models can sustain medical education during severe disruptions, thereby contributing to global health resilience.

3. Enhancing Safety and Promoting Prudent Resource Use In Europe, combating Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) remains a cornerstone of health resilience.

• Integrated Curricula: The WHO strongly encourages educational institutions to integrate traditional medicine and biomedical curricula, fostering mutual understanding and interprofessional collaboration.

• Appropriate Use of Antibiotics: Such integration enables trained practitioners to offer evidence-based traditional alternatives for suitable conditions, supporting more prudent antibiotic use and helping to address the growing “silent pandemic” of AMR.

4. Improving Health Literacy and Community Engagement Education extends beyond professionals to the wider public, serving as a foundation for empowered and resilient communities.

• Informed Choice: The development of clear, balanced educational materials on the benefits and risks of TCM modalities enables European citizens to make informed health decisions and engage responsibly in self-care.

• Intergenerational Learning: Sustained educational efforts help preserve and transmit traditional and Indigenous knowledge across generations, safeguarding valuable biocultural heritage that can inspire future innovations in planetary health.

For all these reasons, the Delhi Declaration and the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 underscore that establishing robust standards for educational programs, university-level research chairs, and continuous professional development is not only an evidence-based necessity — it is an ethical and environmental imperative for building modern, sustainable, and resilient health systems in Europe and beyond.

SZKMA remains committed to advancing high-quality education and training in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a strategic contribution to a healthier, more integrated, and more resilient Europe.