WHO clarifies term ‘traditional medicine’ after Twitter post; “Liver Doc” denounces global body for “condescension to pseudo-scientific garbage”

Hyderabad: As the World Health Organization (WHO), in collaboration with India’s Ministry of Ayush, is organizing a two-day global summit on traditional medicine in Gujarat on Thursday, a renowned doctor specializing in the treatment of diseases of the liver has criticized the global health body for adopting “pseudoscience”. and called the WHO a “political, not a scientific organization.”

Dr Cyriac Abby Phillips, better known by her social media name ‘The Liver Doc’, has reacted to WHO’s recent clarifications on Twitter regarding the latter’s publication on traditional medicine.

Here’s what exactly happened:

On August 12, the WHO published a detailed tweet on the “benefits” of traditional medicines. “For millions of people around the world, traditional medicine is their first step towards health and well-being. Which ones have you used? Acupuncture, Ayurveda, herbal medicine, homeopathy, naturopathy, osteopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, Unani medicine ,” reads the WHO message.

As people began to react to the WHO post, Twitter added a “community note” to the WHO post that called traditional forms of medicine “pseudoscience.” “Homeopathy, osteopathy and naturopathy are not traditional medicines, but must be described as pseudosciences, because they were invented in countries/eras where/when modern science was already developed. Furthermore, used contemporary form of acupuncture has modern roots,” says the Community. note read.

On Wednesday, the WHO issued a clarification on its initial message, acknowledging that the message could have been better worded. “We have heard your concerns and comments around this message and agree that this message could have been better worded. The term “traditional medicine” includes traditional, complementary and integrative medicine/health and wellness systems. Our work aims to provide evidence and scientific validation around traditional medicine so that the millions of people around the world who use complementary and traditional medicine understand whether it is safe and effective and are better protected. When scientifically validated, Traditional medicine has the potential to close access gaps for millions of people around the world. By access gaps, we mean that too many people still cannot afford or are unable to obtain health care. health and the tools that can keep them safe. We appreciate these comments and thank our audience for engaging on this topic. Literacy is vital for science, solidarity, and solutions,” reads the clarification from the WHO.

Read also : “India has a rich history of traditional medicine…”: WHO chief at Gandhinagar summit

Reacting to the clarification, Dr. Phillips, aka “The Liver Doc,” criticized the WHO in a lengthy Twitter post and said the clarification “is even worse than your initial message.”

“Your clarification is even worse than your initial post. Do you understand the meaning of science and pseudoscience? Pseudoscience: a set of beliefs or practices wrongly considered to be based on a scientific method. Every practice of “traditional medicine » which you embarrassingly adopted in your original article, from Ayurveda to acupuncture to Unani to naturopathy, are all pseudo-scientific practices, i.e. primal therapies based on primitive, obsolete, unscientific and sometimes very stupid principles (homeopathy).

The evidence that is intended to be derived from these unrealistic complementary and alternative medicines goes beyond actual scientific reasoning, because by definition, pseudoscience is incompatible with the scientific method; is characterized by contradictory, exaggerated, or unfalsifiable claims, relies on confirmation bias rather than rigorous attempts at refutation, lacks openness to evaluation by other experts, and lacks systematic practices when development of hypotheses; and continues to stick to crappy principles long after the pseudo-scientific hypotheses have been experimentally discredited (eg: all AYUSH). You are all confused between drug discovery from traditional practices and natural sources, which is a powerful tool of scientific medicine WHICH HAS NOTHING to do with complementary and alternative medicine. “Health knowledge”: your last sentence proves once again that you are a political organization and not a scientific one. Please stop the pseudo-scientific condescension. Again, do better.

It is pertinent to mention that Dr. Phillips has been documenting the “side effects” of alternative medicine for years and has faced threats and legal notices. Meanwhile, WHO chief Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus on Thursday praised India for its rich history of traditional medicine like Ayurveda and yoga. He stressed the need to integrate this ancient medical knowledge into the countries’ national health system.

The World Health Organization Director-General was speaking after inaugurating the first-ever WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine in Gandhinagar, as part of the G20 Health Ministers’ Meetings which began at the center Congress Mahatma Mandir.

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