“India has committed $85 million over 10 years, 2022–2032, to support the programming of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Traditional Medicine Centre and this decade-long contribution will support a cross-sectoral programme of work to strengthen the evidence base for traditional medicine by providing data and evidence on traditional medicine policies, practice, products, and public use,” the world body said in a release issued by it earlier this week.
The WHO-India donor agreement is part of a $250 million investment from India in support of the establishment of the WHO Global Centre of Traditional Medicine in 2022, which includes financial support for the work plan of the Centre, interim premises and a new building.
“This support will scale up WHO’s capacities on traditional medicine across technical divisions and regions in the spirit of global collaboration and solidarity. Part of this substantial contribution from the Government of India will also be included in WHO’s Investment Round to resource WHO’s core work during 2025–2028,’‘ WHO noted.
Bruce Aylward, assistant director-general of the Universal Health Coverage and Life Course division of WHO noted that traditional medicine, supported within national health systems, can allow healthcare providers to reach those most often left behind. “Integration of traditional practice and knowledge is critical to achieving health for all,” he said.
“The signing of this donor agreement is a major milestone towards achieving the shared vision for the development of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre at Jamnagar in India,” added Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary of the Ministry of Ayush.
The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre is is a knowledge hub focussing on five inter-connected areas of work — research and evidence, primary health care and universal health coverage, indigenous knowledges and biodiversity, digital health applications and the biennial WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit and collaborations.
Meanwhile, India’s support for traditional medicine has been expressed through a variety of long-standing partnerships with WHO.
In 2023, India signed a five-year agreement to support the technical work of WHO’s Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCI) unit.
The unit develops key benchmark documents, standardised terminologies, and other evidence-informed technical products to enhance the acceptability and credibility of the traditional medicine systems.
