WHO Signs MoU With AYUSH to Promote Traditional Medicine
Summary: The World Health Organisation and the Ministry of AYUSH have joined hands to lay down a healthcare system that integrates traditional medicine globally.
A technical project meeting, spanning two days, between the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of AYUSH, took place in New Delhi, for the development of a specific module for traditional medicine within the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI).
The MOU
The Ministry of AYUSH said that the meeting was successfully held on December 20 and 21, 2025, and the outcome was the signing of the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) and Donor Agreement, by the WHO and the Ministry.
The integration
The Agreement states that the traditional medicine systems like Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani should be integrated into the global healthcare standards. India will provide the financial and technical support for the same.
This integration is in line with the vision of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enable the global spread of AYUSH’s traditional medicines.
The PM
The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his ‘Man ki baat’ address to the nation, said that a dedicated module for ICHI would help in promoting AYUSH’s TM globally and bring it scientific recognition as well.
The outcome
The integration of traditional medicine into ICHI is important as it will positively impact medical interventions across countries and medical systems the world over. It will ease the burden of healthcare workers who will easily be able to document, report and analyse the use and efficacy of traditional medicines.
The project will be led by WHO and will adhere to a strict timeline, scientific approach, encourage clinical research, provide policy support, and lead to the expansion of traditional medicine globally within the national health information systems.
The members
The Secretary of the Ministry of AYUSH, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, stated that the module would give traditional medicine a place on the world map and also strengthen the efforts of the WHO to build an inclusive, evidence-based and safe healthcare system for the world.
The Joint Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH, Kavita Garg, chaired the technical sessions, leading the Indian delegation for developing national Health Intervention Codes for the branches of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani medicine systems.
Other participants included experts like Director General- CCRAS- Prof. Rabinarayan Acharya, Director General CCRS – Prof. NJ Muthukumar, Director General – CCRUM Dr Zaheer Ahmad, representatives of all 6 WHO regions: AFRO, AMRO, EMRO, AURO, SEARO and WPRO.
The classification discussions were carried out by eminent officials from WHO Headquarters in Geneva – Robert Jakob, Nenad Kostanjsek, Stephane Espinosa and Dr Pradeep Dua.
Dr Geetha Krishnan was the Indian representative of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine, and Dr Pawan Kumar Godatwar from the WHO SEARO in Delhi.
The participating member states were Bhutan, Brazil, Iran, Malaysia, Nepal, Mauritius, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, the UK and the USA for aligning their national practices and harmonising intervention description.
Conclusion
A welcome step, and long deserved, as the traditional medicine systems have been around for ages. The marriage of tradition and science will improve the healthcare systems worldwide.
Source: Inputs from various media Sources
- Health News and Updates,People Forum
- 23 January 2026
- 19:03
