Comments
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Indian government have signed an agreement to establish the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine.
This global knowledge centre for traditional medicine, supported by an investment of $250 million from the central government, aims to harness the potential of traditional medicine globally through modern science and technology to improve the health of people and the planet, the WHO said in a note.
Traditional medicine
Around 80 per cent of the world’s population is estimated to use traditional medicine. To date, 170 of the 194 WHO Member States have reported the use of traditional medicine, and their governments have asked for WHO’s support in creating a body of reliable evidence and data on traditional medicine practices and products, the UN health agency said.
“For many millions of people around the world, traditional medicine is the first port of call to treat diseases,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“Ensuring all people have access to safe and effective treatment is an essential part of WHO’s mission, and this new centre will help harness the power of science to strengthen the evidence base for traditional medicine,” he added.
The term “traditional medicine” describes the total sum of the knowledge, skills and practices indigenous cultures have used over time to maintain health, and prevent, diagnose and treat physical and mental illnesses. Its reach encompasses ancient practices such as acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine and herbal mixtures.
But today, national health systems and strategies do not yet fully integrate the millions of traditional medicine workers, accredited courses, health facilities, and health expenditures, the note pointed out.
About 40 per cent of approved pharmaceutical products in use today derive from natural substances, highlighting the vital importance of conserving biodiversity and sustainability. 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 the wild yam plants, and child cancer treatments have been based on the rosy periwinkle. Nobel-prize winning research on artemisinin for malaria control started with a review of ancient Chinese medicine texts, it added.
The centre is being located at Jamnagar, Gujarat.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.