In May 2026, a delegation of the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies (WFAS) attended the 79th World Health Assembly and the 159th session of the WHO Executive Board in Geneva, Switzerland. The delegation consisted of Dr. Thomas Braun, Vice President of WFAS and Head of the Department of Science and Education at ATCÄ, Germany; and Prof. Hu Weiguo, Deputy Secretary-General of WFAS and Professor at the Swiss University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The 79th World Health Assembly was held from 18 to 23 May at the Palais des Nations and WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Under the theme “Reshaping global health: a shared responsibility,” the Assembly reviewed more than 60 important agenda items, covering global health system development, universal health coverage, primary health care, public health emergency preparedness and response, noncommunicable diseases, mental health, antimicrobial resistance and other areas. According to WHO, the Assembly adopted more than 20 decisions and 13 resolutions, addressing key global health issues including stroke, liver disease, tuberculosis, antimicrobial resistance, diagnostic imaging, emergency care, haemophilia, precision medicine and radiation health.

During the Assembly, the WFAS delegation actively attended side events related to traditional, complementary and integrative medicine, and participated in discussions on relevant technical topics. Of particular note, the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, officially adopted at the 78th World Health Assembly, was further advanced during this Assembly. Participants held in-depth discussions on safe, effective, evidence-based and people-centred traditional medicine solutions, with the aim of accelerating progress towards universal health coverage. The WFAS delegation closely followed the relevant discussions and conducted extensive and fruitful exchanges with experts and scholars from various countries.

Subsequently, the 159th session of the WHO Executive Board was held from 25 to 26 May at WHO Headquarters in Geneva. The Executive Board is one of WHO’s important governing bodies. Its main functions are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly, and to advise and generally facilitate its work. This session discussed matters including follow-up to the outcomes of the 79th World Health Assembly, public health emergency preparedness and response, the future model of the Member State-led governance reform pilot, the report of the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee, the review of hosted partnerships, and the process for the election of the Director-General. The WFAS delegation continued to participate in relevant agenda items of the Executive Board, following developments in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and partnership cooperation related to the traditional medicine strategy.

During the meetings, a bronze acupuncture figure was displayed in the conference area of WHO Headquarters. The figure is a replica of an acupuncture teaching model and was presented to WHO by China in 2017.

As a non-State actor in official relations with WHO, WFAS has maintained official relations with WHO for ten consecutive cycles since 1998. WFAS has long been committed to promoting international standards, education and training, academic exchanges, and clinical norms in acupuncture. WFAS will continue to actively respond to the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with WHO and traditional medicine institutions in various countries, and continue its efforts in standard dissemination, technical promotion, academic research, and education and training. WFAS will further promote the integration of acupuncture and traditional medicine into global health governance, contributing to universal health coverage, the well-being of people worldwide, and the building of a global community of health for all.