WHO’s first ever Global Summit on traditional medicine begins

In Gujarat, the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Ayush convened the first-ever global summit on traditional medicine in Gandhinagar. The two-day global summit was inaugurated by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya,Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday. The summit, focusing on the role of traditional medical practices in addressing health challenges and promoting sustainable development, kicked off with an address by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who highlighted India's rich history of traditional medicine.Speaking at the inauguration, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated, "India has a rich history of traditional medicine through Ayurveda, including Yoga, which has been shown to be effective in alleviating pain. The Gujarat Declaration, the main outcome of this summit, will focus on integration of traditional medicines in national health systems, and help unlock the power of traditional medicine through science."

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya expressed optimism about the summit's potential impact.  The Health Minister said, “This global summit will provide a unique opportunity for us, to engage in dialogue, exchange ideas, foster collaboration, and establish international partnerships, to advance the agenda of Traditional and Complementary Medicine and to work together towards promoting and leveraging, the potential of traditional healing practices worldwide.” Elaborating on the Indian health system, the Health Minister cited that India today is supported by a workforce of 1.3 Million Allopathic Doctors, 800,000 AYUSH doctors and 3.4 Million Nurses & Auxiliary Nurse and Midwives.

Through this highly qualified and skilful workforce, India plans to contribute to an organised system of workforce mobility, wherein India’s healthcare professionals travel to different parts of the world, to serve the global community. Reiterating that health is perceived as a service in India, he highlighted that nation aspires to create a people-centric,value-based system of healthcare. Mandaviya emphasized that medical value travel will enable greater knowledge-sharing,sustainable partnerships and increased synergies contributing to building a stronger global health architecture. He said “We strive to build a more inclusive and equitable world where healthcare knows no boundaries and where skilled healthcare professionals can make a difference wherever they are. Our collective efforts will be towards creating a healthcare ecosystem that embraces the voice of every nation, every citizen and every being.”

Praising the visionary leadership of Prime Minister,Narendra Modi, Union AYUSH Minister Sarbananda Sonowal noted that the theme of India G20 Presidency ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ incorporates medical value travel and health workforce mobility as an important facet in its pursuit to build resilient global healthcare systems. He further added “the preventive and promotive approach of our traditional health care systems has played a significant role in modern age today, particularly when global health was afflicted in recent times.” The Union AYUSH Minister further underscored the importance of implementing harmonized and coordinated strategies of traditional medicine through effective governance at international, regional, and national levels. He emphasized that “India being a soft power in the traditional system of medicine can play a pivotal role here in mitigation of these alarming changes in health care scenarios.”

The event, which will conclude on August 19, aims to address crucial global health priorities. The three main focus areas of the meeting include health emergencies prevention, pharmaceutical sector cooperation, and digital health innovations for universal health coverage. G. Kamala Vardhana Rao, CEO FSSAI, Vishal Chauhan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Aradhana Patnaik, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Abhishek Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, government officials, representatives from more than 70 countries, including CIS, ASEAN, SAARC, Africa, and the Middle East regions and industry officials were also present at the event..G20 Health Ministers, Regional Directors of WHO, and participants from countries across all six WHO regions will also attend the two-day event.Other notable attendees include traditional medicine practitioners, health workers and representatives from civil society organisations.