into EU Frameprogram 7
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is being
demanded as well as being used increasingly by European
citizens. The resultant shift in demand is, at present, not
being met with matching efforts to clarify the knowledge
base of these treatments.
The European Research Initiative on Complementary and
Alternative Medicine-EURICAM has been formed to point
out this deficit to the public and encourage governments of
countries within the European Union to provide research
funding to establish the evidence base for CAM. Hence the
slogan of EURICAM is “CAM into FP7”.
Governments and regulating bodies need to have solid
research data on which to inform decisions about not
only the effectiveness of CAM treatments but also their safety.
Europe needs to establish a programme of research support
that can compare with those initiated by Canada and the US.
EURICAM’s aim, therefore, is to persuade the European
administration to make CAM one of the priority subjects
for research in the upcoming Framework 7 research
programme as well as in future programs.