The collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) has strengthened global recognition of traditional medicine systems. 

The collaboration would provide leadership on the global health matters related to traditional medicine as well as extend support to member countries in shaping various policies related to traditional medicine research, practices and public health.

In this connection the Ministry of Ayush has taken initiative for World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Collaborative Centre for Traditional Medicines at Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA), Jamnagar and Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), New Delhi, and National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage (NIIMH), Hyderabad, a unit under Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), New Delhi. 

Deputation of an Ayush Expert on secondment basis at P-5 level at WHO Hq. Geneva and Technical Officer at P-4 level at WHO’s South East Asian Regional Office (SEARO) has been done.

The Ministry of Ayush has signed 3 Project Collaboration Agreements (PCAs) with WHO since 2016 as a commitment towards promotion and propagation of scientific Traditional systems of healthcare enhancing its quality and safety, and fostering international collaboration in this field. A Donor Agreement between the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India and the WHO has been signed on 31.07.2024.

The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC) in Jamnagar would emerge as a Centre of global wellness, bolster evidence-based research, training and awareness for Traditional Medicine. It will serve as a key knowledge hub for evidence-based Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) on a global scale. This is the first and only global out posted Centre (Office) for traditional medicine across the world with the following key objectives:

• • 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 Traditional Medicine (TM) Informatics Centre creating a collaborative of existing Traditional Medicine (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.

On Friday, this information was given by Union Minister of State (I/C) for Ayush, Shri Prataprao Jadhav in a written reply in Lok Sabha .