$3 billion in 2014, AYUSH sector set to grow to $24 bn this year: top official

The summit is being co-hosted by the WHO and India, which holds presidency of G20 in 2023.

According to Kotecha, experts from more than 90 countries will attend the event, which will be a platform for all stakeholders — policymakers, academics, researchers, and private sector participants — to share best practices and evidence, data, and innovation on the contribution of traditional medicine to health and sustainable development. “There is a huge response to AYUSH-based health and wellness centres,” he told told The Indian Express. “At present, 7,000 such centres are operational and data from states (from January to December 2022) indicate that 8.42 crore patients have availed of the services.”

At the summit, the WHO will present emerging findings from the third global survey on traditional medicine, which, for the first time, includes questions on financing of traditional and complementary medicine, health of indigenous people, quality assurance, knowledge of traditional medicine, biodiversity, trade, integration, and patient safety, among others, it was informed.

The complete survey — to be released later this year, first on an interactive online dashboard and then as a report — will inform the development of WHO’s updated traditional medicine strategy between 2025 and 2034, as requested by the World Health Assembly in May this year.

Earlier, WHO had appointed 11 experts in traditional medicine, public health and policy, including former UGC vice-chairman Bhushan Patwardhan as co-chair, to its external advisory group to provide strategic and technical advice for the maiden traditional medicine summit. The other co-chair is L Susan Wieland, director, Cochrane Complementary Medicine, USA.

Contacted on email, Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, WHO lead for Global Traditional Medicine Centre and Summit, told The Indian Express that the WHO is working with its member-states on standards and benchmarks for different traditional medicine systems and their evidence-based integration in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

The ICD allows countries to count and identify their most pressing health issues, and it does not include, refer to, nor endorse any therapy.

She pointed out that around 40% pharmaceutical products today have a natural product basis, and landmark drugs derive from traditional medicines.

“The inclusion of a supplementary chapter on traditional medicine conditions in ICD will, for the first time, enable counting of traditional medicine services and encounters, measurement of their form, frequency, effectiveness, safety, quality, outcomes, cost; it will, inform regulations, allow comparison with mainstream medicine and research due to standardised terms and definitions nationally and internationally,” Dr Kuruvilla said.