WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in India

The  World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) is a knowledge centre for traditional medicine.

Location

The WHO GCTM is being established in Jamnagar under the Ministry of AYUSH.  This would be the first and only global outposted Centre (office) for traditional medicine across the globe.

Why is it needed

88% of all countries are estimated to use traditional medicine, such as herbal medicines, acupuncture, yoga, indigenous therapies and others. One hundred seventy Member States report the use of traditional medicine, and their priority request to WHO is for evidence and data to inform policies, standards and regulatory frameworks for safe, cost-effective and equitable use.

Traditional medicine has been an integral resource for health for centuries in communities around the world, and it is still a mainstay for some with inequities in access to conventional medicine. The sociocultural practice and biodiversity heritages of traditional medicine are invaluable resources to evolve inclusive, diverse sustainable development. Traditional medicine is also part of the growing trillion-dollar global health, wellness, beauty, and pharmaceutical industries. Over 40% of pharmaceutical formulations are based on natural products and landmark drugs, including aspirin and artemisinin, originated from traditional medicine. The contribution of traditional medicine to national health systems is not yet fully realized, as millions of accredited traditional medicine workers, facilities, expenditures and products are not fully accounted for. Augmenting WHO’s capacities to address these knowledge needs will be a main objective of WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM).

Benefits

• To position AYUSH systems across the globe
• To provide leadership on global health matters pertaining to traditional medicine.
• To ensure quality, safety and efficacy, accessibility and rational use of traditional medicine.
• To develop norms, standards, and guidelines in relevant technical areas, tools and methodologies, for collecting data undertaking analytics, and assess impact.  Envisage WHO TM Informatics centre creating a collaborative of existing TM Data banks, virtual libraries, and academic and research institutes.
• To develop specific capacity building and training programmes in the areas of relevance to the objectives and conduct training programmes in campus, residential, or web-based, and through partnerships with the WHO Academy and other strategic partners.

India’s investment

As lead investor in the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine, India has committed an estimated US$ 250 million to support the Centre’s establishment, infrastructure and operations. This includes 35 acres of land in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, for a new building and premises in 2024, an interim office, and support for the GCTM operational costs with a 10-year commitment.

The WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine will be an accessible, eco-friendly and interactive facility showcasing global traditions and modern scientific advances in traditional medicine.

While the new Centre is being built, an interim office will be established at the Institute Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA), which is a WHO Collaborating Centre and Institute of National Importance.

Source : WHO