Worldwide, traditional medicine is used by billions of people for their health and well-being. At a signing ceremony in Geneva, the Government of India committed US$ 85 million over 10 years, 2022–2032, to support the programming of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre. India's 10-year financial contribution will support a cross-sectoral program of work to strengthen the evidence base for traditional medicine by providing data and evidence on traditional medicine policies, practice, products, and public use.
The WHO-India donor agreement is part of a US$ 250 million investment from India in support of the establishment of the WHO Global Centre of Traditional Medicine in 2022, which includes financial support for the workplan of the Centre, interim premises and a new building. This support will scale up WHO's capacities on traditional medicine across technical divisions and regions in the spirit of global collaboration and solidarity. Part of this substantial contribution from the Government of India will also be included in WHO's Investment Round to resource WHO's core work during 2025–2028.
Photo: WHO/Lindsay Mackenzie
"India's commitment and leadership in expanding the evidence-based contribution of traditional medicine to the health and well-being of all people and the planet, comes at an opportune moment," said Dr Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General of the Universal Health Coverage and Life Course division of WHO. "Traditional medicine, supported within national health systems, can allow us to reach those most often left behind. Integration of traditional practice and knowledge is critical to achieving health for all."
"The signing of this donor agreement is a major milestone towards achieving the shared vision of Honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and WHO Director-General Tedros for the development of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre at Jamnagar in India," said Vice Minister Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary of the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India.
"India remains committed to supporting WHO in its work to strengthen traditional medicine systems globally for achieving universal health coverage and serving the entire humanity, especially through this Global Centre in Jamnagar, which would help focus these efforts to benefit all Member States," said Ambassador Arindam Bagchi, Permanent Representative of India to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva.
The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre is is a knowledge hub focusing on five inter-connected areas of work: research and evidence; primary health care and universal health coverage; Indigenous Knowledges and biodiversity; digital health applications; and the biennial WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit and collaborations. The Centre is led by Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, Director a.i.
The first WHO traditional medicine global summit was held in August 2023 in Gujarat, resulting in the a multistakeholder action agenda, the Gujarat Declaration. The next WHO Global Summit is planned for November 2025, following up on the anticipated launch of the 2025–2034 Global Strategy for Traditional Medicine at the 78th World Health Assembly in May 2025.
India's support for traditional medicine has been expressed through a variety of long-standing partnerships with WHO. In 2023, India signed a five-year agreement to support the technical work of WHO's Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCI) unit. The unit develops key benchmark documents, standardized terminologies, and other evidence-informed technical products to enhance the acceptability and credibility of the traditional medicine systems.
The Centre and TCI collaborates closely with teams across WHO to advance WHO's multisectoral agenda on traditional medicine, including through regular meetings of the WHO Technical Expert Network, coordinated by the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre and TCI, to promote a One WHO approach on traditional medicine across headquarters, regional and country office.
