First of its kind global summit on traditional medicine in Gujarat from Thursday

Health ministers from 30 countries will attend the two-day ‘Traditional Medicine Global Summit’ being organised by the Ministry of Ayush and World Health Organisation (WHO) in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar from Thursday.

The event is expected to be one of the largest gatherings of its kind, bringing together participants from over 90 countries, distinguished members of academia, government representatives and significant players from the traditional medicine sector.

It will explore the role of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine in addressing pressing health challenges and driving progress in global health and sustainable development.

“The G20 is a unique opportunity to showcase India’s leadership in the field of traditional medicine. In the last 9 years, India has developed eight folds in the field of traditional medicine. By the end of the year, more than 12,500 Ayush-based Health and wellness centres will be functional across the nation, out of which 8,500 are already in place,” said Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary at the Ministry of Ayush.

The Secretary highlighted that the Global Centre on Traditional Medicines in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, which was inaugurated in 2022, is the United Nation’s first and largest traditional medicine outpost in any developing country.

Work on traditional medicine systems is ongoing in multiple directions on multiple platforms. Along with mainstream health care, evidence-based research is being done in the field of Ayush in dealing with diseases like cancer, TB, communicable diseases and women and child health with scientific approach.

Kotecha shared that the Ayush visa will facilitate global access to Indian traditional medicine systems and will usher in a new era of comprehensive healthcare.

Lav Agarwal, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, also provided an overview of India’s healthcare sector and its progress, as well as the challenges it faces and its current priorities.

With India holding the current G20 presidency, he highlighted the nation’s strengths in healthcare and urged for efforts to be focused on maximizing its contribution to the global healthcare sector.

Agarwal praised India’s contribution to the world’s well-being and brought to attention the many yoga centres that have come up in the far-flung regions of the globe, enhancing healthcare. He added that India’s approach is holistic healthcare through modern and Ayush medicine.