Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya meets WHO chief; discusses promoting Ayurveda to further global wellness

WHO's director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (File image: AP)

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday interacted with WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during the latter’s visit to Delhi, and discussed promoting Ayurveda to further global health and wellness.

Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organisation (WHO) is in India for the ground breaking ceremony of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) at Jamnagar in Gujarat with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Earlier in the day, Tedros visited the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) along with Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia Region and the health minister.

"Had an excellent interaction with DG of @WHO @DrTedros during our visit to the All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi. We talked about our commitment towards promoting Ayurveda to further global health and wellness,” Mandaviya said in a tweet.

He further said Ayurveda and our traditional knowledge and medicines are gaining global popularity.

"PM Shri @NarendraModi Ji’s Govt is working actively with @WHO to encourage research, training and sharing of best practices in this area to realise our shared vision of providing holistic healthcare,” the minister tweeted.

The WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine aims to guarantee and improve quality and safety of traditional medicine and practices by developing a cohesive approach to healthcare and a mechanism that allows access to such practices and protects traditional medical knowledge, Poonam Khetrapal Singh had earlier told PTI.

"Even though traditional medicines have been around for millennia and despite their widespread use, they lack robust evidence, data and a standard framework, preventing their integration into mainstream healthcare delivery system. As a result, millions of accredited traditional medicine workers, facilities, expenditures and products are still not fully accounted for,” she had said.

The GCTM with its global reach will be a game-changer by focusing on four strategic areas of work — evidence and learning; data and analytics; sustainability and equity; and innovation and technology.

"It will help harness the power of traditional medicine to advance the SDG 3 target of ensuring health and promoting wellbeing for all ages,” the WHO regional director said.