Context: Groundbreaking ceremony for the first-of-its-kind WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) will be held in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

• As per WHO, the reach of traditional medicine encompasses ancient practices such as acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine and herbal mixtures as well as modern medicines.
• According to WHO estimates, 80% of the world’s population uses traditional medicine.
• The new centres will support WHO’s efforts to implement the WHO traditional medicine strategy 2014-2023.

Why has WTO felt the need to advance knowledge of traditional medicine?

1) The WHO says 170 of its 194 WHO Member States have reported the use of traditional medicine. Moreover, these member states have asked for its support in creating a body of “reliable evidence and data on traditional medicine practices and products”.

• Jamnagar centre will serve as the hub, and focus on building a “solid evidence base” for policies and “help countries integrate it as appropriate into their health systems”.

2) There is a need to conserve biodiversity and sustainability as about 40% of approved pharmaceutical products today derive from natural substances.

• For example, the discovery of aspirin drew on traditional medicine formulations using the bark of the willow tree, the contraceptive pill was developed from the roots of wild yam plants and child cancer treatments have been based on the rosy periwinkle.

3) WHO has referred to modernisation of the ways traditional medicine is being studied. Artificial intelligence is now used to map evidence and trends in traditional medicine.

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used to study brain activity and the relaxation response that is part of some traditional medicine therapies such as meditation and yoga.

4) Traditional medicine is also being extensively updated by mobile phone apps, online classes, and other technologies.

• The GCTM will serve as a hub for other countries, and build standards on traditional medicine practices and products.

Traditional Medicines development in India

• New research is being done in India by combining information received from modern science of the 21st century with India’s ancient medical knowledge.
• The All India Ayurvedic Institute was established in October 2017.
• The National Sowa-Rigpa Institute for research and other studies related to Sowa-Rigpa in Leh is about to be developed.
• Prime Minister has called upon the Education Ministry and UGC to find new avenues in disciplines like Ayurveda Physics and Ayurveda Chemistry.

What is Traditional Medicine?

• It is the sum total of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures.
• It is used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness.

WHO traditional medicine strategy: 2014-2023

• The WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014–2023 was developed and launched in response to the World Health Assembly resolution on traditional medicine (WHA62.13).
• Aim: to support Member States in developing proactive policies and implementing action plans that will strengthen the role traditional medicine.

It seeks to build upon the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2002–2005, which reviewed the status of TM globally and in Member States, and set out four key objectives:

• Policy: integrate TM within national health care systems, where feasible, by developing and implementing national TM policies and programmes.
• Safety, efficacy and quality: promote the safety, efficacy and quality of TM by expanding the knowledge base, and providing guidance on regulatory and quality assurance standards.
• Access: increase the availability and affordability of TM, with an emphasis on access for poor populations.
• Rational use: promote therapeutically sound use of appropriate TM by practitioners and consumers.
• Member States can rise to these challenges by organizing their activities in the following three strategic sectors:
• Build the knowledge base that will allow to be managed actively through appropriate national policies.
• Strengthen the quality assurance, safety, proper use and effectiveness of T&CM
• Promote universal health coverage by integrating T&CM services into health service delivery and self-health care.

Key Facts

• The WHO traditional medicine strategy 2014-2023
• It aims to support countries in developing policies and action plans to strengthen the role of traditional medicine as part of their journey to universal health coverage and a healthier, fairer and safer world.
• The demand for Ayurvedic products increased by about 45 per cent in September 2020 compared to the previous year.
• There has been significant increase in export of spices like turmeric, ginger which are considered as immunity boosters.
• The prices of Ayurvedic herbs like Ashwagandha, Giloy, Tulsi have increased amid the pandemic.

Similar Collaborative Efforts taken by India Earlier

Project collaboration agreement (PCA): In 2016, the Ministry of AYUSH signed a PCA with the WHO in the area of traditional medicine. The aim was to create benchmarks for training in yoga, Ayurveda, Unani and Panchakarma, for traditional medicine practitioners.

• The collaboration also aimed at promoting the quality and safety of traditional medicine and consumer protection by supporting WHO in the development and implementation of the WHO Traditional and Complementary Medicine Strategy.
• MoUs with various institutes, universities and organisations from countries across the globe were signed.