The G20 Health Ministers’ meeting under India’s G20 Presidency is being held in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar from August 17-19. Notably, India assumed the presidency of the G20 on 1 December 2022.
While explaining the importance of holistic health, he said that the global celebration of the International Day of Yoga is a testament to the universal desire for holistic health.
He further noted that Gujarat is an important step in establishing the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Center for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar.
“The holding of the WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine, along with the G20 Health Ministers meeting, will intensify efforts to harness its potential. It should be our joint effort to build a global repository for traditional medicine,” he added.
PM Modi further said that health and the environment are organically linked. He added that clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient nutrition, and secure shelter are major factors of health.
“The steps taken to address the threat of Anti-Microbial Resistance are also commendable. AMR is a grave risk to global public health and all pharmaceutical advancements so far. I am also glad that the G20 Health Working Group has prioritized ‘One Health’.”
He emphasized that the vision of “One Earth, One Health” envisages good health for the entire ecosystem, including humans, animals, plants, and the environment. “This integrated view carries Gandhiji’s message of not leaving anyone behind,” he said.
Additionally, he stressed the digital solutions and technological innovations to make our efforts equitable and inclusive. Nowadays, people from far and wide can receive quality care through telemedicine.
“India’s national platform, e-Sanjeevani, has facilitated 140 million telehealth consultations to date. India’s COWIN platform successfully facilitated the largest vaccination drive in human history. It managed the delivery of more than 2.4 billion vaccine doses and the real-time availability of globally verifiable vaccination certificates,” he said.
On this occasion, several Vietnamese delegates are attending the first WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit, which is currently taking place in Gandhinagar of Gujarat.
The event, held alongside the G20 health ministerial meeting, seeks to mobilize political commitment and evidence-based action on traditional medicine, which is the first port of call for millions of people worldwide in order to address their health and well-being needs.
The Global Summit, co-hosted by the World Health Organisation and the Indian Government, serves as a platform for all stakeholders, including traditional medicine workers, users, policymakers, and international organizations, among others, to share best practices and game-changing evidence, along with showcasing data and innovation on the contribution of traditional medicine to health and sustainable development.
Addressing the event, Nguyen Thi Huong Lien, co-founder and vice director of Sao Thai Duong Joint Stock Company of Vietnam, highlighted several important aspects of promoting innovation in traditional medicine and recommended several strategic solutions and necessary actions to be taken moving forward.
She also shared Government orientations for the development of traditional medicine in Vietnam, as well as the application of scientific and technological advances in medical examination and treatment and manufacturing of traditional medicine in the country.
For centuries, traditional and complementary medicine has been an integral resource for health in households and communities. Indeed, it has been at the frontier of medicine and science, laying the foundation for conventional medical texts.
According to the WHO, around 40% of pharmaceutical products today have a natural product basis, whilst landmark drugs derive from traditional medicine, including aspirin, artemisinin, and childhood cancer treatments.
There are growing industries for herbal medicines, natural products, health, wellness, and related travel. Currently, 170 Member States reported to the WHO on the use of traditional medicine and have requested evidence and data to inform policies, standards, and regulations for its safe, cost-effective, and equitable use.
