Global experts to set benchmarks for practice
: As many as 39 experts from 18 countries will develop benchmarks for practice in Ayurveda, Panchakarma and Unani at a three-day event organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which began here on Monday.
WHO is developing benchmark documents of the alternative medical systems as part of its global strategy to provide safe, effective and accessible traditional medicine to the global community.
The event was hosted by the AYUSH ministry and coordinated by National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), Jaipur. The experts - 13 each from Ayurveda, Panchakarma and Unani - would review the draft document developed by WHO through consultative process.
AYUSH secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said Ayurveda and Panchakarma originated from India, but Unani is not from India. They are all traditional medicines, so wisdom should come from all over the world and not only from India. He said this activity has the potential to open up a lot of possibilities.
Kotecha added that with regard to traditional medicine, India is said to be good and wonderful, but when it comes to evidence, then not much evidence is available. This activity will generate huge evidence and standardise data, he added.
He said recently the AYUSH ministry and the World Health Organisation signed an MoU to work together in Ayurveda, Unani and Panchakarma that will help standardise its practices. Even a training module was prepared and now benchmark for practices of these traditional medicines are being made, which the World Health Organisation will publish so that in the entire world the practice of these alternative systems of medicine can be standardised.
He said Ayushman Bharat scheme is the world’s biggest health programme and India can set an example of using traditional and modern medicines, which the world can adopt.
Vaidya Kotecha said WHO deputy director general programme Dr Soumya Swaminathan did mention in her address that Ayushman Bharat scheme has integration of AYUSH system, which could be a sort of benchmark. “WHO is for country specific module and programme and we are willing to partner. This will also open up doors for standardisation of practice that leads to evidence generation,” he said.
Dr Swaminathan, in her address through a video, said Universal Health Coverage is in WHO Alma-Ata Declaration and it is possible only with this kind of (Ayushman Bharat) model.
WHO regional advisor traditional medicine Dr Sungchol Kim said developing benchmark is one of the steps to standardise and ensure quality. “India has multiple institutions and capacity and we are going to cooperate with India to develop standards,” he added.
National Institute of Ayurveda director Prof Sanjeev Sharma said the meeting is aimed at arriving at an international consensus regarding the structure and content of each of the documents, which are expected to provide a minimum requirement for qualified practice by practitioners of Ayurveda, Panchkarma and Unani and also to serve as a reference to national authorities to establish/strengthen regulatory standards.
JAIPUR