Union Cabinet approves WHO Global Centre on Traditional Medicine in Gujarat's Jamnagar

A Joint Task Force has been constituted for coordination, execution and monitoring of activities for the establishment of the centre

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved setting up of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine at Jamnagar to promote such medical practices across the world with support from the World Health Organization.

The Centre would develop norms, standards, and guidelines in relevant technical areas and create tools and methodologies for collecting data besides undertaking analysis and impact-assessment. The aim is to ensure quality, safety and efficacy, accessibility and rational use of traditional medicine.

Establishment of the global centre was announced by the WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in November 2020 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while celebrating Ayurveda Day.

A Joint Task Force has been constituted for coordination, execution and monitoring of activities for the establishment of the WHO centre.

The task force comprises representatives from the Centre, Permanent Mission of India, Geneva and the WHO. Under the ambit of this, an interim office is being established at the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda, Jamnagar, Gujarat to execute the identified technical activities and planning of fully functional WHO GCTM.

The Union Cabinet was also apprised of two memorandum of understanding that ICMR signed with German agency Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, USA for collaboration on medical research.

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