MUMBAI, 27 April 2022: Thomas Cook (India) Limited staged the end-to-end delivery of the recent groundbreaking ceremony and event for the world’s first World Health Organization (WHO) Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
The groundbreaking ceremony and launch of the new WHO global centre for traditional medicine in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, took place on 21 April.
Thomas Cook India was hired as the exclusive event management agency to launch the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine. This global project will focus on data, innovation, and sustainability while optimising the use of traditional medicine in healthcare and wellness. Funded by India, the project’s investment stands at around USD250 million.
Around 80% of the world’s population is estimated to use traditional medicine, and about 170 of the 194 WHO member states have reported the use of traditional medicine. Their governments asked for WHO’s support to create a body of reliable evidence and data on traditional medicine practices and products worldwide.
Following the groundbreaking ceremony, the WHO centre will be designed to engage and benefit all world regions, while Jamnagar, India, will become a traditional medicine hub for Asia.
Traditional medicine is also increasingly prominent in the world of modern science. Some 40% of approved pharmaceutical products today derive from natural substances, highlighting the vital importance of conserving biodiversity and sustainability. For example, the discovery of aspirin drew on traditional medicine formulations using the bark of the willow tree; the contraceptive pill was developed from the roots of wild yam plants and child cancer treatments have been based on the rosy periwinkle. Nobel-prize winning research on artemisinin for malaria control started with a review of ancient Chinese medicine texts.
India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus led the groundbreaking ceremony at the landmark event attended by more than 2,000 VIPs. Thomas Cook India managed the event for the WHO and Ministry of Ayush, Government of India.
(Wikipedia: The Ministry of Ayush, a ministry of the Government of India, is responsible for developing education, research and propagation of indigenous and alternative medicine systems in India. Ayush is derived from the names of the alternative healthcare systems covered by the ministry: Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy)
In addition to the event, Thomas Cook was also responsible for managing public relations and media outreach for the government’s prestigious Global Ayush Investment & Innovation Summit in Gandhinagar.
Thomas Cook (India) Limited President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa Rajeev Kale commented: “We were honoured to be selected as the exclusive event management agency for the Ministry of Ayush’s groundbreaking ceremony for the world’s first World Health Organization (WHO) Global Centre for Traditional Medicine.”
(Source: Thomas Cook (India) Ltd)
