Now Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani will not be limited to local identity only, but will be recorded in the official language of the global health system. Taking an important step in this direction, the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Ayush held a two-day technical meeting in Delhi on December 2021. The purpose of this meeting was to include traditional medical systems in the International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI).

Under this agreement and the historic MoU and donor agreement between the Ministry of AYUSH and WHO, a separate module is being developed in ICHI for Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (ASU), so that these systems can also become a part of the global health standards. India is providing technical and financial support in this entire process.

The aim is to take AYUSH to as many people as possible in the world.

This initiative is directly related to the thinking which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put forward many times. In Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister has said that through scientific standardization, AYUSH can be taken to more and more people of the world. AYUSH Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha has also made it clear earlier that by getting a place in ICHI, AYUSH will get global recognition and scientific acceptance.

Interestingly, representatives from all six regions of WHO, from Africa to Europe and the Western Pacific, attended this meeting. Along with experts from WHO Headquarters in Geneva, countries like India, UK, USA, Brazil, Iran, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Africa also participated. Everyone had the same focus. Traditional medicine needs to be integrated into a common, scientific and international framework.

Traditional treatment will also be a part of research

Actually ICHI coding is the common language of any treatment. With this, doctors and health systems of different countries are able to understand which treatment was given how often, how effective it was and what is its importance at the policy level. Inclusion of AYUSH in this means that now traditional treatments will also become a part of global data, research and health policy.

WHO will take this project forward within the stipulated time frame and with strict scientific standards. The government hopes that this will not only strengthen research and policy making, but will also pave the way for AYUSH systems to find a place in national health systems around the world.