Most of the CIKS partner institutions are located in predominantly rural provinces characterised by limited modern healthcare services. The majority of the people depend on traditional medicine (TM) for primary healthcare. The CIKS partner institutions are engaged in the promotion of TM in terms of research, teaching and community engagement.

There is a symbiotic relationship between African Traditional Medicine (ATM) and conservation of biodiversity through sustainable harvesting to prevent biodiversity loss. Therefore, CIKS collaborates with African Traditional Health Practitioners (ATHPs) in research, human capital development and promoting sustainable harvesting of medicinal plant species, to protect, promote and preserve ATM and associated biological resources and knowledge systems.

The CIKS also promotes the importance of interfacing TM with other knowledge systems including the pharmaceutical sciences to meet the global challenges of public healthcare such as dread diseases (HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria, Diabetes, etc.), mental healthcare, sexual and reproductive health and neglected infectious diseases.