WHO establishes traditional medicine centre in India

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Indian government have signed an agreement to establish the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine.

This global knowledge centre for traditional medicine, supported by an investment of $250 million from the central government, aims to harness the potential of traditional medicine globally through modern science and technology to improve the health of people and the planet, the WHO said in a note.

Around 80 per cent of the world’s population is estimated to use traditional medicine. To date, 170 of the 194 WHO Member States have reported the use of traditional medicine, and their governments have asked for WHO’s support in creating a body of reliable evidence and data on traditional medicine practices and products, the UN health agency said.