Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday laid the foundation stone of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar district.
The ceremony of the new centre happened in the presence of the prime minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jagnauth, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO, union health minister Mansukh Mandavia, Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel, among others.
The centre is being established for the time being at the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) in Jamnagar, which has the status of Institute of National Importance and has collaborated with WHO. Officials said that till the new centre gets its own campus, it will function at the premises of ITRA.
Earlier in March, WHO had announced that "as lead investor in the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine, India has committed an estimated US$ 250 million to support the Centre’s establishment, infrastructure and operations." It said that the centre will be spread over 35 acres of land in Jamnagar, a coastal town.
Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister said that the establishment of the centre is "a partnership between the World Health Organisation and the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India to fulfil its responsibility to serve humanity. In the next twenty-five years, traditional medicine will become important for every family in the world." He also said that in order to increase the acceptance of traditional medicine, it is necessary to formulate an international standard for testing and certification of traditional medicine.
Modi, who is on a three-day visit to poll-bound Gujarat, also dedicated a new dairy complex and potato processing plant at Diyodar in Banaskantha district. He also interacted with women dairy farmers. On Wednesday, he will be leading a roadshow in Ahmedabad, later he will address a gathering in Dahod in central Gujarat and will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of various development projects.
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