Ayush Ministry reinforces the international partnership to ensure the quality of traditional medicine at the WHO forum

New -delhi, October 14 (IANS). The 16th annual meeting of the World Health Organization International Regulatory Cooperation for Herbal Medicine (WHO-IRCH) will be held in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia from October 14 to 16. The meeting brings together representatives of the WHO member states and observer organizations to provide a forum for discussion and promotion of international cooperation and harmonize regulatory frameworks related to the safety, quality and effectiveness of herbal medicine. India participates in the meeting by a high-level delegation led by Dr. Raghu Arkal, Ayurveda, the Ministry of Ayush, the central government. The delegation also contains Dr. Raman Mohan Singh, Deputy Director General (In-Charge) of Ayush and Director of the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homeopathy (PCIM & H) and Dr. Mahesh Dadhich, CEO of the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB). Their active participation highlights India’s leadership in continuing regulatory harmonization and integration of traditional medical systems within global health frameworks. The delegation met the ambassador of India in Indonesia Sandeep Chakraborty on Monday. The delegation informed the ambassador about India’s participation in the WTO-IRCH annual meeting and investigated opportunities to strengthen international cooperation in traditional medicine. The detailed discussion focused on the Memorandum or Understanding (MOU) on collaboration in the field of traditional medicine -quality insurance signed on January 26 between the Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (FDA) and the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homeopathy (PCIM & H), Ayush. The purpose of this sleeve is to improve collaboration through capacity building, exchange of technical expertise and harmonization of quality insurance practices. Ambassador Chakraborty has secured active support and coordination by the Indian embassy in Jakarta to facilitate the effective implementation of the sleeve. On the first day of the meeting, Dr. Raghu Arkal made a presentation on the status of herbal medicine in India, with an emphasis on recent initiatives, policy developments and international partnerships taken by the Ayush Ministry. His speech underlined India’s continued commitment to strengthening the regulatory ecosystem for traditional medicine and its active role in promoting global cooperation in this area. A major highlight of the meeting was the release of the proceedings of the WTO-IRCh Workshop on ‘Safety and Regulation of Herbs Medicine’ (Working Group-1) and ‘Effectiveness and Intended Uses of Herbal Medicine’ (Working Group-3). The workshop was organized by the World Health Organization and hosted by the Ministry of Ayush in collaboration with PCIM & H in Ghaziabad from 6 to 8 August. The three-day meeting held in Jakarta confirms the collective commitment of WHO-I-IRCH member states to ensure safe, effective and quality use of herbal medicine worldwide. India is still emerging as a major contribution to the formation of international policy and regulatory cooperation in the traditional medicine sector. -—IANS DKP/ Share these Story Tags