Although there is the widespread use of traditional herbal medicine in Uganda, one of its key defining features is the paucity of research evidence regarding the safety or efficacy to guide decision-making about that use by individuals, healthcare providers and health policymakers. These barriers pose challenges to the promotion of rational use of traditional herbal medicine practices. The need for evidence-based information regarding Traditional Medicine (TM) remains compelling. To respond to this need, THETA seeks to:

1. 1. institutionalise research in TM as one of its key programmes
   2. implement a model of an integrative medicine centre that supports clinical herbal medicine research.

Expected result: Increased evidence base on TM for policy development and advocacy for its integration into the health care system.

Key strategies

• Establish a self-sustaining integrative medicine centre model
• Initiate collaborative clinical research programmes on TM
• Establish platforms for the dissemination of reliable and evidence-based information on TM