WHO and KEI discuss governance of traditional medicine knowledge in the AI era at a WIPO-IGC side event, proposing federated data governance and benefit-sharing arrangements

The event framed the impact of AI and digitalization on traditional medicine knowledge as a governance issue: AI could accelerate drug discovery based on traditional medicine knowledge but may also make contributions by knowledge holders harder to trace. Earlier discussion of traditional medicine tended to focus on access and intellectual property; this side event brought attribution, ownership, consent and equitable benefit-sharing into the same discussion as new issues raised by AI and digital technologies. Based on remarks by Margo A. Bagley of Emory University in the expert panel; this is expert judgment and a record of discussion, not empirical research data.

James Love, Director of KEI, presented findings from two draft WHO papers on the legal and IP considerations for traditional medicine databases, noting the challenge of protecting community rights across jurisdictions, and proposed federated data governance and tailored benefit-sharing arrangements. It moves database governance from a single-jurisdiction protection approach toward federated governance and tailored benefit-sharing arrangements intended to support trusted evidence generation and equitable remuneration. Based on findings from two draft WHO papers presented at the event; the text provides no sample, data or quantitative indicators.

Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota, Ambassador of Brazil to the WTO, described the recently adopted WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge as a major step toward greater transparency and recognition of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in the international intellectual property system, and stressed the importance of securing ratifications and effective implementation. It positions the treaty's adoption as a milestone in a process rather than an endpoint, making subsequent ratification and implementation the key next steps. Based on the fact that the treaty has been adopted and on the ambassador's assessment at the event; this is a policy development and diplomatic statement.

Manjeet Singh Saluja of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre called for advancing traditional medicine that is safe, effective and evidence-informed while protecting traditional medicine knowledge, recognizing the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and safeguarding biodiversity, and outlined WHO initiatives including an intellectual property toolkit for traditional medicine and a framework for respectful knowledge exchange with Indigenous Peoples. It places evidence-informed advancement of traditional medicine alongside knowledge protection, community rights and biodiversity safeguarding in a single governance agenda, and points to concrete WHO-level tools and frameworks. Based on a WHO official's description of existing and ongoing initiatives; the text does not provide the specific content or evaluation results of the toolkit or framework.

The side event was aimed at policymakers, international organizations, academia, governments and civil society representatives engaged in the WIPO-IGC process, and discussed how intellectual property, access and benefit-sharing and data governance frameworks can support innovation in traditional medicine while safeguarding the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The proposed federated data governance, prior informed consent and tailored benefit-sharing arrangements apply to building and governing traditional medicine databases that need to protect community rights across jurisdictions and support trusted evidence generation. For readers, it offers an entry point to the governance of traditional medicine knowledge in the AI era, along with concrete policy handles such as the WHO intellectual property toolkit, the framework for respectful knowledge exchange with Indigenous Peoples and the new WIPO treaty.

The text is a meeting report and does not provide the full text, specific provisions or assessment data of the two draft WHO papers, nor does it specify the implementing actors, technical pathways or funding sources for federated data governance and tailored benefit-sharing arrangements; the ratification progress and effective implementation of the WIPO treaty remain to be seen; and the link between AI accelerating drug discovery and the difficulty of tracing contributions is expert judgment in the text without empirical support. In addition, the text does not provide a complete record of remarks or Q&A at the side event, so judgments about the extent of disagreement and consensus can only be limited to the statements reported.