India Pledges $85 Million To WHO Traditional Medicine Center

India will contribute $85 million over a decade to the World Health Organization’s Global Traditional Medicine Center, the WHO announced.

The center, located in the Indian western city of Jamnagar, aims to strengthen the evidence base for traditional medicine and provide data on related policies, practices and public use.

The donation is part of a larger $250 million investment from India to support the center’s work, including funding for its operations, interim premises, and a new building.

“Traditional medicine supported within national health systems can allow us to reach those most often left behind,” WHO Assistant Director-General Dr Bruce Aylward said of the importance of the donation. “Integration of traditional practice and knowledge is critical to achieving health for all.”

The Jamnagar center’s work will focus on traditional medicine research, primary care integration, indigenous knowledge preservation, digital health applications and a biennial global summit.

“India remains committed to supporting WHO in its work to strengthen traditional medicine systems globally for achieving universal health coverage,” said India’s UN ambassador Arindam Bagchi. “Especially through this Global Centre in Jamnagar.”

Traditional Medicine: Ancient Practices Meet Modern Scrutiny

Billions worldwide rely on traditional medicine, with India at the forefront of integrating these practices into its national health system. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi established the Ministry of Ayush to revitalize the country’s ancient medical wisdom.

Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary of the Ayush Ministry, hailed the WHO agreement as “a major milestone” aligned with Modi and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ vision for the traditional medicine centre’s development.

However, this embrace of traditional medicine has ignited fierce pushback from India’s modern medical community. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) led strikes protesting government policy allowing Ayush doctors – practitioners of disciplines like Ayurveda and homeopathy – to perform surgeries, citing fears for the lives of patients. The IMA has also taken legal action against traditional medicine companies for misleading health claims.

The WHO finds itself walking a tightrope, pledging to promote only evidence-based practices while seeking to integrate traditional medicine where scientifically supported. Yet controversy erupted at the first traditional medicine summit in India in 2023, when WHO social media posts appeared to endorse unproven treatments, contradicting its official stance.

Health Policy Watch reported experts questioning WHO’s apparent support for naturopathy, homoeopathy, and osteopathy as “traditional” medicine, warning against “legitimizing harmful pseudoscience.”

The next traditional medicine summit is scheduled for November 2025.

Image Credits: WHO/Lindsay Mackenzie.