This is the first book to address public health issues in traditional, complementary and alternative medicine (TCAM). It presents state-of-the-art reviews of TCAM research in a range of priority public health areas such as malaria and HIV and in such common ailments as skin conditions and orthopedic injury in developing countries. Contributions analyze policy trends in areas such as financing of TCAM and education and training in this field as well as selected case studies of model TCAM projects. Important chapters on research methodology, ethical and safety issues, and intellectual property rights pertaining to traditional medicine are also presented. Public financing for TCAM is a test of the commitment of governments, and the book includes an analysis from the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Atlas data of the worldwise trends in this area. With safety concerns foremost in the minds of both policy makers and the public, the book offers a global overview of policy and legislative trends in this field as well as an important set of guidelines for pharmacovigilance and TCAM products. Contents: Introduction: Policy and Public Health Perspectives on TCAM (G Bodeker et al.); Financing TCAM Treatment (G Burford et al.); Training (G Bodeker et al.); Safety: Issues and Policy (G Shia et al.); Pharmacovigilance of Herbal Medicines: A UK Perspective (J Barnes); Medicinal Plant Biodiversity and Local Health Care: Sustainable Use and Livelihood Development (G Bodeker & G Burford); Kitchen Herbal Gardens: Biodiversity Conservation and Health Care at the Local Level (P Venkatasubramaniam et al.); Humanitarian Responses to Traditional Medicine for Refugee Care (C Neumann & G Bodeker); Public-Private Partnerships: A Case Study from East Africa (P Mbindyo); Malaria (M L Willcox & G Bodeker); HIV/AIDS: Traditional Systems of Health Care in the Management of a Global Epidemic (G Bodeker et al.); An Overview of Clinical Studies on Complementary and Alternative Medicine in HIV Infection and AIDS (J Liu); Skin and Wound Care: TCAM in Public Health Dermatology (G Bodeker et al.); Traditional Approaches to Treating Musculoskeletal Conditions: Beyond "Bonesetting" (G Burford et al.); Clinical Trial Methodology (R R Chaudhury et al.); Ethical Issues in Research (M L Willcox et al.); Intellectual Property Rights (G Bodeker). Key Features The editors are well known for their work in TCAM internationally having edited the WHO Global Atlas A landmark reference which fills a knowledge gap that has been present too long in the face of the widespread growth of TCAM Readership: Public health specialists and departments; health policy departments in ministries of health and universities; colleges of traditional and complementary medicine; World Health Organization and affiliated institutions; medical schools as a background text on TCAM.