India and WHO “shake hands” to set up a Center for Global Traditional Medicine

India and WHO signed an agreement to establish a Center for Global Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar city, Gujarat state. (Source: Twitter)

The signing ceremony between Mr. Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Deputy Minister of Traditional Medicine of India (Ayush) and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus took place on March 25 in Geneva (Switzerland).

After the signing ceremony, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared on Twitter: India is honored to be the home of the modern WHO Global Traditional Medicine Center. The center will contribute to building a healthier planet and harnessing India’s rich traditional practices for global benefit.

Noting that India’s traditional medicines and health care methods are very popular globally, Mr. Modi hopes the center will make a positive contribution to improving public health.

As such, the city of Jamnagar will act as a new hub that benefits all regions of the world.

WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “For many millions of people around the world, traditional medicine is the first choice for the treatment of many diseases.

Ensuring everyone has access to safe and effective treatment is an important part of WHO’s mission and this new center will help harness the power of science to strengthen the evidence base. for traditional medicine”.

The WHO Global Center for Traditional Medicine, with a $250 million investment from the Indian government, aims to harness the potential of traditional medicine from around the world through science, the WHO said in a statement on the same day. and modern technology to improve human health.

An estimated 80% of the world’s population uses traditional medicine and about 40% of the pharmaceutical products approved for use today are derived from natural substances.

To date, 170 of the 194 WHO member countries have reported the use of traditional medicine.

National governments have also asked WHO for assistance in establishing an agency that provides reliable evidence and data on traditional medicine products and practices.

The launch of the new WHO Global Center for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar will take place on April 21.