India, WHO Sign Deal To Establish Global Centre For Traditional Medicines 
India’s Ministry of Ayush signed the Host Country Agreement with the WHO on March 25 to build a Global Centre for Traditional Medicine.

The government of India and the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday signed an agreement to set up a one-of-its-kind Global Centre for Traditional Medicine. India will invest $250 million in this centre which will be established in Jamnagar city in the state of Gujarat. 

The centre will work towards harnessing the potential of ‘traditional medicine’ from across the world through modern science and technology to improve the health of people and the planet, the press release said.

“Ensuring all people have access to safe and effective treatment is an essential part of WHO’s mission, and this new centre will help to harness the power of science to strengthen the evidence base for traditional medicine. I’m grateful to the Government of India for its support, and we look forward to making it a success,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said in the press release. 

India’s Ministry of Ayush, which is the designated ministry for Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy, signed the Host Country Agreement with the WHO. The interim office will be at the Institute of Training and Research in Ayurveda in Gujarat and the onsite launch of this new global centre will take place on April 21. 

The centre will concentrate on building a solid evidence base for policies and standards on traditional medicine practices and products and help countries integrate it as appropriate into their health systems and regulate its quality and safety for optimal and sustainable impact, according to the WHO. 

Around 80% of the world’s population is estimated to use traditional medicine and 170 of the 194 WHO Member States have reported the use of traditional medicine. However, national health systems and strategies do not yet fully integrate the millions of traditional medicine workers, accredited courses, health facilities, and health expenditures.

“Through various initiatives, our government has been tireless in its endeavour to make preventive and curative healthcare, affordable and accessible to all. May the global centre at Jamnagar help in providing the best healthcare solutions to the world,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. 

WHO defines traditional medicine as: “the total knowledge, skills and practices indigenous and different cultures have used over time to maintain health and prevent, diagnose and treat physical and mental illness and its reach encompasses ancient practices such as acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine and herbal mixtures as well as modern medicines”.

India’s Ayush ministry was established in November 2014 to revive the knowledge of ancient Indian systems of medicine and to ensure the optimal development and propagation of the Ayush systems of healthcare.

Image Credits: WHO Twitter.

Combat the infodemic in health information and support health policy reporting from the global South. Our growing network of journalists in Africa, Asia, Geneva and New York connect the dots between regional realities and the big global debates, with evidence-based, open access news and analysis. To make a personal or organisational contribution click here on PayPal.