Modi, along with World Health Organisation Director-General and PM of Mauritius lays foundation stone for WHO facility
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, April 19, said the establishment of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (WHO GCTM) here will usher in a new era of traditional medicine globally, a report in The Tribune, Chandigarh says.
The Prime Minister, along with World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and prime minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth laid the foundation stone for the WHO GCTM.
Notably, the meeting between Dr Ghebreyesus and Modi came days after India objected to the WHO’s methodology for estimating the number of Covid-19 deaths in the country.
“When India is celebrating 75 years of its Independence right now, this ground-breaking ceremony for this centre marks the beginning of a new era of traditional medicine in the world during the next 25 years,” Modi said.
“Looking at the increasing popularity of holistic healthcare, I am confident that traditional medicine and this centre will become very important for each and every family of the world after 25 years, when India will be celebrating 100 years of independence,” he added.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, we realised the importance of wellness. That is the reason why the world is searching for new avenues of healthcare delivery,” said Modi.
Modi said Ayurveda and other Indian traditional medicine systems were not limited to only treatment, as they are considered as holistic sciences.
Indian traditional knowledge can play a crucial role in dealing with new diseases and ailments related to the modern lifestyle, the prime minister said.
“When India is celebrating 75 years of its Independence right now, this ground-breaking ceremony for this centre marks the beginning of a new era of traditional medicine in the world during the next 25 years,” Modi said.
“In India, there was a time when our elders used to stress the consumption of millet. But we saw a decline in its consumption over the years. But people are once again talking about it. I am happy that the UN has also accepted India’s proposal to popularise the use of millet in our diet,” Modi said.
Year 2023 has been declared as the International Millet Year by the United Nations, he informed the audience.
Formulations based on traditional medical systems like Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha are in huge demand worldwide today, Modi noted.
He said, the centre would play an important role in popularising Yoga globally.The prime minister also set five goals for the WHO- GCTM.
“Your first goal should be to make use of technology to prepare a comprehensive database of all the traditional medicines available in the world. This centre should have a global repository of all such traditional knowledge. This will help us in passing on this knowledge about traditional medicine of different countries to the next generations,” said the PM.
The GCTM should also work towards setting international standards for testing and certification of traditional medicine, he said.
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