In a move that would help propel Indian traditional medicinal system on the global stage, the Government is in talks with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to include AYUSH terminology like ayurveda and Unani in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, a system that allows health professionals to share health information across the globe.
ICD-11 is the new classification of diseases released in June 2018 by the global health agency.
“In a recent meeting which was attended by ambassadors/ high commissioners of 15 nations, it was acknowledged that there was a need for diligent integration of traditional and complementary systems of medicines in the healthcare of people with respect to combating non-communicable diseases and promotion of health alongside the modern medicine across the world with very low cost.
“In this regard it was also felt that, induction of Indian Medical systems like Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) of the WHO would be desirable,” said an official from the Union Ayush Ministry.
Chaired by Union Minister of AYUSH, Shripad Naik, the meeting on globalisation of traditional and alternative systems of medicine was attended by Ambassadors/High commissioners of Bhutan, UAE, Cuba, Iran, Ghana, Hungary, Trinidad, Oman, Equatorial Guinea, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Switzerland, Mauritius, Bangladesh and The United Kingdom, the official added.
There was consensus in the meeting that all stake holding countries should come together to work for the globalization of traditional medicine systems which are already finding wide acceptance.
Over the past few years, India has been aggressively promoting AYUSH on the domestic as well as international stage both for expanding its global influence and for a share of the estimated US$50-billion global market.
Efforts are also on to ensure better manufacturing practices and scientifically validated herbal drugs are made available. For instance, CSIR’s two labs-the Central Institute of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) and the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) have jointly developed anti-diabetes herbal drug BGR-34 which is being sold by the AIMIL Pharma across the country.
Similarly, research to develop cost-effective cannabis based drugs for treatment of pain in cancer, epilepsy and sickle cell anaemia is being conducted by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR—IIIM) in collaboration with Bombay Hemp Company (BOHECO).
Medical-tourism hotspots in India too are drawing foreigners in good number. India has established AYUSH chairs in more than two dozen cities to raise awareness about the AYUSH systems of medicine abroad. These countries include Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago, Mexico, Cuba, Hungary, Russia (two cells), Indonesia (two cells), Mauritius among others.