Ministry of Ayush, Government of India and WHO sign Donor Agreement

The Ministry of Ayush, the Government of India and the World Health Organization signed a Donor Agreement during a signing ceremony organised at WHO Headquarters in Geneva on July 31, 2024. This agreement, which outlines the financial terms for implementing the activities of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC) in Jamnagar, Gujarat was signed by Arindam Bagchi, Permanent Representative of India to the UN, Geneva and Dr Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage and Life Course on behalf of Ministry of Ayush and WHO respectively. Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary of Ayush, joined the event virtually. 

The event was moderated by Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, Director a.i. of WHO GTMC and a vote of thanks was delivered by Dr Razia Pendse, Chef de Cabinet, representing the Director-General of WHO.

Through this collaboration, the Government of the Republic of India will donate $ 85 million over a period of 10 years (2022-2032) to support the operations of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC) in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. The Donor agreement recognises the establishment of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre as a key knowledge hub for evidence-based Traditional Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) aiming to advance the health and well-being of people and the planet.

With the approval of the Union Cabinet; a Host Country Agreement was signed on March 25, 2022, between the Ministry of Ayush, the Government of India and WHO, marking the establishment of WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat as the first and only global out-posted Centre (office) for traditional medicine across the globe.

The interim office of the WHO-GTMC is already operational, working on developing capacity-building and training programmes relevant to its objectives. These programmes will include campus-based, residential or web-based training, in partnership with the WHO Academy and other strategic partners.

The Ministry of Ayush has collaborated with WHO on various fronts, including the development of benchmark documents for training and practice in Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha systems, the creation of WHO terminology for these practices, the introduction of a second module in the Traditional Medicine Chapter of the International Classification of Diseases-11, the development of apps like M-Yoga and support for the International Pharmacopoeia of Herbal Medicine (IPHM). These collaborative efforts, including those involving the WHO GTMC, will help India in positioning traditional medicine on the global stage.

Edits made by EH News Bureau