MEDICAL TOURISM MILESTONE
WHO GLOBAL CENTRE FOR TRADITIONAL MEDICINE (GCTM)
A BEACON OF HOPE
The WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) seeks to blend ancient wisdom and advanced technology for global health and wellness.
A
historic agreement was signed between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of India (GOI) on 19th April, 2022 to establish the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM), the first of its kind in the world, at Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, that “aims to harness the potential of traditional medicine from across the world through modern science and technology to improve the health of people and the planet’. The Centre symbolises the hopes and aspirations of millions of people across the world, who are practitioners and beneficiaries of traditional systems of medicine. The historic decision, no doubt, will go a long way in promoting and protecting these systems to enable them to further global health and wellness.
S Jalaja IAS Former Secretary (AYUSH)
Status of traditional systems of medicine According to WHO, traditional medicine represents “the sum total of the knowledge, skill, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness”. Traditional systems were the predominant health systems in different parts of the world till late 19th and early 20th centuries. With the ascendance of modern medicine, traditional systems started facing stiff competition, and in the course of time, were marginalised. They were dismissed as ‘non-science’, despite the fact that they were used by people for generations for their healing and wellness and that many of the practices were recorded and tried over and over again. Today, with the advancement of technology, traditional systems are facing unprecedented challenges. Their practitioners are often accorded a second-class status, compared to modern medical practioners. Due to propaganda, or because of genuine concerns, even those among the educat-
42 Medical Tourism Apr - Jun 2022