India and WHO agreement for Global promotion of Traditional Systems of Medicine

Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India and the World Health Organization (WHO) have signed an historic Project Collaboration Agreement (PCA) for cooperation on promoting the quality, safety and effectiveness of service provision in traditional and complementary medicine.

Details:

• The PCA is titled as ‘Co-operation on promoting the quality, safety and effectiveness of service provision in traditional and complementary medicine between WHO and AYUSH, India, 2016-2020’.
• It aims to support WHO in the development and implementation of the ‘WHO Traditional and Complementary Medicine Strategy: 2014-2023’ and will contribute to the global promotion of traditional Indian Systems of Medicine.

The PCA for the period 2016-2020 will deliver for the first time WHO benchmark document for training in Yoga, and WHO benchmarks for practice in Ayurveda, Unani and Panchakarma.

Benefits of the agreement:

• These will contribute significantly to the strengthening of national capacities in ensuring the quality, safety and effectiveness of traditional medicine.
• They will also help in establishing regulatory frameworks for traditional medicine products and practice and promote their integration in national healthcare systems.
• This PCA is a further recognition of India’s rich experience in the development and governance of traditional medicine.

It will also pave the way for India’s long-term collaboration with the WHO in fostering the global promotion and integration of AYUSH systems of medicine including through the inclusion of Ayurveda and Unani in the International Classification of diseases and the International Classification of Health interventions.