The groundbreaking ceremony of world’s first WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) is all set to be held on 19 April in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Director-General of WHO, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus.

To take a stock of the preparedness, Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister, Ayush and Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ayush visited the site in Jamnagar today.

Two weeks ago, the Ministry of Ayush had signed the host Country Agreement with World Health Organization (WHO) for establishing the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in India.

Commenting on the upcoming groundbreaking ceremony, Sonawal, said, “The primary objective of the GCTM is to integrate the benefits of traditional medicine from across the world with modern science and technology.”

He added, “This initiative will help develop affordable and reliable health services for India as well as the global community and we only have Prime Minister Modi to thank for this. Bringing together modern science, innovation and traditional medicine will pave the way for building a sustainable healthcare system. We look forward to the upcoming event in Jamnagar to celebrate the collaborative and strategic efforts by the WHO and the Government of India.”

Kotecha also travelled to the site of the ceremony in Jamnagar and took stock of the preparations. After the site visit, the Union Minister held a review meeting with district officials and addressed the press about the Global Centre of Traditional Medicine, discussed the key highlights of the partnership between the Ayush Ministry and the WHO and emphasized the ever increasing importance of traditional medicine in a post-COVID world.

While Jamnagar will serve as the hub, the new Centre is being designed to engage and benefit all regions of the world. GCTM shall focus on four main strategic areas: evidence and learning; data and analytics; sustainability and equity; and innovation and technology to optimize the contribution of traditional medicine to the global health.

“It will focus on building solid evidence base for policies and standards on traditional medicine practices and products and help countries integrate it as appropriate into their health systems and regulate its quality and safety for optimal and sustainable impact,” stated the press release.