The World Health Organization is not going to adopt a softer approach to supporting traditional medicines, and rather it will follow the same, rigorous standards applied for conventional medicines, Dr Shyama Kuruvilla, WHO lead for Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM), told News18. In April 2022, WHO’s first-of-its-kind project, GCTM, at Gujarat’s Jamnagar, was officially launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the world body’s director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The centre aims to generate evidence and enhance credibility for all ancient and traditional medicines and therapies used across the globe, such as in India, Africa, Arab, Islamic, and China.

Kuruvilla, leading the centre in India, said that “it is now fully operational and the research work has been started”.

Talking about standardising these medicines to collaborate with modern medicines, she took a firm stance.

“WHO won’t go soft on science," she said, adding that “these practices and medicines will pass through the rigorous trials and parameters as conventional drugs are put through”.

Understanding what is effective holds significance, but even more critical is recognising what isn’t effective, said Kuruvilla.

On being asked why India occupies an important role amid the establishment of the GCTM in India – the first office of the United Nations which has been opened outside a developed country – she commended India for its political endeavours in preserving ancient wisdom.

“India commands a leadership position in traditional medicines because of its ancient practices such as Ayurveda but also because of the modern leadership including Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking an interest in traditional medicines,” she said.

Kuruvilla spoke to News18 on the sidelines of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Summit taking place at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The event is being co-hosted by the WHO and the Government of India, which holds the presidency of the G20 in 2023.

Imagine doing clinical trials for yoga: Kuruvilla

According to Kuruvilla, who earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the WHO’s approach is not going to be soft on approving systems of traditional medicines.

“We are going to use the same criteria that are used for modern medicines. Rather, we would also go hard on science,” she said while explaining that the use of random clinical trials (RCTs) or double-blind studies may not be suitable for judging all forms of traditional or ancient practices.

“Imagine doing that (RCTs) for yoga,” she remarked with a chuckle.

Kuruvilla then added that WHO might need to develop more scientific methods for generating evidence.

“It means, we need to see how scientific methods should evolve so that they can capture the holistic nature of traditional medicines. The approach needs to be different and not just RCTs or pharmaceutical-based intervention mode. It has to be more holistic, related to lifestyle and wellbeing,” she explained. “The process through which WHO adds products to the essential medicines lists or approves medicinal products is extremely thorough and scientific. There is no doubt that the same will be applicable to alternative medicines, therapies also.”

Why India holds importance

Kuruvilla, who also held the position of senior strategic adviser, Universal Health Coverage and Life Course, at WHO, recalled the story of how PM Modi and the world body’s chief Dr Tedros bonded over the idea of launching GCTM in India.

“When the director general, Dr Tedros, and PM Modi had met (and finally decided to open GTCM in India), they connected on the concept of ‘health for all’,” she recalled. “India has come forward in terms of introducing modern technology to work towards the generation of evidence.”

Kuruvilla added that under the leadership of PM Modi, the country started talking about “health for all” and “access to healthcare”.

She further gave instances of various certified products that come under the AYUSH ministry already signalling the work done on the creation of evidence.

“The work has also been done on the concept of digital grid and hence, there are so many innovative things that the country has done in this area,” she said.

Kuruvilla cited an example of the latest event under which the Indian Council of Medical Research signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Ayush to integrate research across traditional and conventional medicine.

‘Public demand for natural, herbal remedies’

Kuruvilla said that there is an increasing “public demand” for using natural or herbal ways for treatment and hence “there is a need for evidence that shows that these therapies or medicines are safe and effective”.

Talking in a small makeshift WHO cabin in the Mahatma Centre convention hall, Kuruvilla cited an example of her colleague – who was also present in the same room.

“This coworker of mine has never taken modern medications," she commented, while the colleague beside her nodded in agreement.

Summing up a crucial aspect of the conversation, she emphasised, “Understanding what is effective holds significance, but even more critical is recognising what isn’t effective."

Kuruvilla said that this is the start of the journey. “People have been using these medicines and therapies for ages and we welcome all the ideas. Now, it’s time to apply a scientific lens,” she said.

What will GCTM do in the next 5 years?

Kuruvilla told News18 that the GCTM will begin doing research priority-setting exercises, globally.

The idea, she said, is to scale up the research and find gaps.

“We need to know what people are using traditional medicine for, where the research is needed, where are we getting promising results, what are gaps, and a lot more,” said Kuruvilla.

In the next five years, she hopes “there will be some groundbreaking results…”

She also expects that the innovation in digital health will add more value to the research and its results. “It will speed up or accelerate the process as it will start throwing patterns.”