What are Traditional Medicines?

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What are traditional medicines?
• India & Traditional medicine
• What are the opportunities in AYUSH sector in India?
• What are the steps taken by India to Promote AYUSH?
• What is WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM)?
• What are the goals of GCTM?
• News Summary: Govt, WHO chief stress importance of traditional medicine, cite growing demand
• Key highlights of the summit
• Key highlights of the speech delivered by WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

 

Why in news?

• A year after the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine was set up in India, the country is hosting the first global summit with an aim to help identify areas of collaboration in traditional medicine.
• This summit was hosted alongside the ongoing G20 ministerial meeting of the health track in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• The Global Summit was co-hosted by the WHO and the Government of India.

What are traditional medicines?

• Traditional medicine, as defined by the WHO, is the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures.
• These skills are used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement, or treatment of physical and mental illness.
• Some traditional medicine systems are supported by huge volumes of literature and records of the theoretical concepts and practical skills.
  • Others pass down these skills from generation to generation through verbal teaching.
• The most widely used traditional medicine systems today include those of China, India, and Africa.

 

India & Traditional medicine

• India has been known to be rich repository of medicinal plants. 
• The forest in India is the principal repository of large number of medicinal and aromatic plants.
• About 8,000 herbal remedies have been codified in AYUSH systems in INDIA.
• Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Folk (tribal) medicines are the major systems of indigenous medicines.

 

What are the opportunities in AYUSH sector in India?

• The country has witnessed unprecedented growth in the production of AYUSH medicines, supplements and cosmetics.
• This sector has seen exponential growth from more than $3 billion in 2014 to $18 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to reach $24 billion in 2023.
• Presently, 7,000 AYUSH-based health and wellness centres are operational in India.
• There are immense possibilities of investment and innovation in supply chain management, AYUSH-based diagnostic tools and tele-medicine.

 

What are the steps taken by India to Promote AYUSH?

• New Ministry Formed
  • In 2014, the Union government established the Ministry of AYUSH, a separate ministry dedicated to traditional medicine and treatment.
• National AYUSH Mission
  • Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had launched National AYUSH Mission (NAM) during 12th Plan.
  • The basic objective of NAM is to promote 
    • AYUSH medical systems through cost effective AYUSH services, strengthening of educational systems, 
    • facilitate the enforcement of quality control of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani & Homoeopathy (ASU &H) drugs and 
    • sustainable availability of ASU & H raw-materials.
• Recent Steps
  • The new category 'AYUSH Aahar’ introduced by the FSSAI in its regulations will help the producers of herbal nutritional supplements.
  • The AYUSH Export Promotion Council has been set up recently to encourage exports and help find foreign markets.
  • The government is going to create a network of AYUSH Parks to encourage research and provide a new direction to AYUSH manufacturing.
  • An incubation centre developed by the All-India Institute of Ayurveda was inaugurated by the Ministry of AYUSH.
    • This will encourage start-up culture in the field of traditional medicine.

 

What is WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM)?

• GCTM is a knowledge centre for traditional medicine which is the first and only global outpost centre for traditional medicine across the world.
• The Centre is located at Jamnagar, Gujarat, India.
• As lead investor in the WHO GCTM, India has committed an estimated US$ 250 million to support the Centre’s establishment, infrastructure and operations.

 

What are the goals of GCTM?

• GCTM lays down five goals. These are:
  • It aims to create a database of traditional knowledge system using technology. 
  • it will create international standards for testing and certification of traditional medicines so that confidence in these medicines improves. 
  • GCTM should evolve as a platform where global experts of traditional medicines come together and share experiences. 
  • GCTM should mobilize funding for research in the field of traditional medicines. 
  • GCTM should develop protocols for holistic treatment of specific diseases so that patients could benefit from both traditional and modern medicine.

 

News Summary: Govt, WHO chief stress importance of traditional medicine, cite growing demand

• Recently, India hosted the first global summit on traditional medicine, alongside the ongoing G20 ministerial meeting of the health track.
• The main outcome of this global summit came in the form of Gandhinagar Declaration.

 

Key highlights of the summit

• Dedicated platform for traditional medicine 
  • The summit decided to create a dedicated platform for traditional medicine under the G20 framework.
  • This platform will aim to foster international collaboration, share best practices, and seamlessly integrate traditional medicine into the heart of mainstream healthcare system.
• Increased role of WHO centre
  • The WHO centre will study not only traditional medicine from India but also collaborate with research institutes abroad to study and generate evidence about their traditional medical practices.

 

Key highlights of the speech delivered by WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

• Highlighted importance of traditional medicines
  • Traditional medicine is not a thing of the past. There is a growing demand for traditional medicine across countries, communities and cultures. 
  • Traditional, complementary and integrative medicine is especially important for preventing and treating non-communicable diseases, for mental health, and for healthy aging.
• Role of traditional medicine in finding modern drugs
  • He cited examples of how knowledge of traditional forms of medicines helped discover modern drugs.
  • E.g., aspirin from bark of willow tree, childhood cancer drugs from Madagascar periwinkle, cardiovascular and hypertension drugs from hawthorne and foxglove, and artemesinin from sweet wormwood.
• Three recommendations for countries
  • All countries should: 
    • commit to examining how best to integrate traditional and complementary medicine into their national health systems;
    • identify evidence-based and actionable recommendations that can inform the next WHO traditional medicine global strategy;
    •  unlock the power of traditional medicine through science.

 

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Q1) What is World Health Organization (WHO)?

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. It was established on April 7, 1948, and its headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO is a leading authority on global health issues and plays a critical role in coordinating and guiding international efforts to improve health and healthcare worldwide.

 

Q2) What is National AYUSH Mission (NAM)?

The National AYUSH Mission (NAM) is a centrally sponsored scheme launched by the Government of India to promote the development and propagation of traditional and alternative systems of healthcare and medicine. The acronym AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy. These are traditional systems of medicine that have a long history of use in India and are considered complementary and alternative systems to modern medicine.

 

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Source: Govt, WHO chief stress importance of traditional medicine, cite growing demand | Ministry of Ayush | Indian Express