The centre will operate under the Ministry of AYUSH and will help India in raising the profile of traditional medicine across the world. It is worth noting that a Cabinet approval led to an agreement between the Government of India and the WHO, for establishment of this centre.
Sources said that this would be the first and only global centre for traditional medicine. It was on the fifth Ayurveda Day on November 13, 2020 that Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghbereyesus, Director General, World Health Organization, had announced the establishment of WHO GCTM in India The WHO GCTM would provide leadership on all global health matters related to traditional medicine. It will also extend support to member countries in shaping policies related to traditional medicine research, practices and public health.
WHO has collaborated with the AYUSH ministry on many projects including benchmark documents detailing training and practice of Ayurveda and Unani System, a second chapter on Traditional Medicine in the International Classification of Diseases-11, app development like M-Yoga, support for the International Pharmacopoeia of Herbal Medicine (IPHM).
Health care delivery systems rely heavily on traditional medicine.
The WHO-GCTM will identify various challenges faced by countries in regulating, integrating and further positioning traditional medicine
