India and WHO Sign $85M Deal for Global Traditional Medicine Centre

Tags: National News

On July 31, 2024, the Ministry of Ayush (India) and the World Health Organization (WHO) signed a donor agreement in Geneva, Switzerland.

An Overview of the News

• Signatories:

  • H.E. Arindam Bagchi, Permanent Representative of India to the UN in Geneva, represented India.

  • Dr. Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage and Life Course, represented the WHO.

About the Donor Agreement:

• Purpose: Part of a USD 250 million investment from India to support the establishment of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC) in 2022.

• Donation: India will contribute USD 85 million over 10 years (2022-2032) for the GTMC's operations in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

• Objective: The agreement supports the GTMC as a key hub for evidence-based Traditional Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) to enhance human and environmental health.

About GTMC:

• Establishment: Officially established on March 25, 2022, as the first global center for traditional medicine.

• Operations: The interim office is operational, offering capacity-building and training programs, including campus-based, residential, and web-based training in collaboration with the WHO Academy and other partners.

Key Collaboration Points:

• Documentation and Training: Development of benchmark documents and training for Ayurvedic, Unani, and Siddha systems, and establishment of WHO terminology.

• ICD-11: Introduction of a second module to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11’s Traditional Medicine Chapter.

• Apps and Pharmacopoeia: Development of the M-Yoga app and support for the International Pharmacopoeia of Herbal Medicine (IPHM).

Ministry of Ayush:

• Minister of State (Independent Charge): Jadhav Prataprao Ganpatrao

• Constituency: Buldhana, Maharashtra

World Health Organisation (WHO):

• Director-General: Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland

• Established: 1948