NewzVille Desk
The Sixth Meeting of the Group of Friends of Traditional Medicine (GFTM) was successfully held on 09 May, 2025, at the Permanent Mission of India (PMI) in Geneva. The meeting brought together representatives from various countries committed to strengthening the role of traditional medicine in global healthcare systems.
Building on the Gujarat Declaration and the success of past meetings, this gathering supports key global initiatives like the WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2025–2034 and the Second WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit, to be held in India from 2–4 December 2025.
Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, Ministry of Ayush delivered a keynote address virtually. He underscored India’s leadership and commitment in promoting evidence-based traditional medicine across the world.
In his remarks Kotecha emphasized the growing relevance of traditional medicine in achieving universal health coverage and advancing the goals of One Health and Sustainable Development.
He reaffirmed India’s commitment through Ministry of Ayush with initiatives like the National AYUSH Mission, the integrative model of Ayush Arogya Mandirs, insurance coverage for traditional medicine, and collaborative research with premier institutions like DBT, DST, ICMR, and CSIR.
Secretary Kotecha also highlighted India’s focus on emerging domains such as AI, genomics, and bioinformatics in traditional medicine—reflected in the global technical meeting on AI applications in traditional medicine underscoring the country’s role in safeguarding traditional knowledge, enhancing capacity, and promoting equitable global health.
The Group of Friends of Traditional Medicine (GFTM) was created by India in May 2023. The Global platform allows WHO member states to discuss and support the integration of traditional medicine into health systems.
