Ayush Ministry to launch technical brief on AI in traditional medicine by Oct

New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) The Ayush Ministry is expected to introduce a technical brief on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in traditional medicine by October this year.

The Ministry said this at the recently concluded two-day Global Technical Consultation Group meeting organised by the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in collaboration with the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC) and the Department of Digital Health and Innovation (AI and digital frontiers unit).

The theme of the meeting was 'Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Global Health: Advancing Traditional Medicine'.

At the inaugural session, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary in the Ministry of Ayush, emphasised the critical role of integrating digital technologies into healthcare, as envisioned in the National Health Policy 2017.

He also stressed the need to include “e-health, m-health, Cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence to enhance healthcare delivery systems”.

Kotecha elaborated on the vision of Ayush Grid as a comprehensive IT backbone for India's traditional medicine sector, in line with the principles of Ayushman Bharat. 

“The Ayush Grid aims to streamline the integration of modern digital tools with traditional medicine systems, further advancing India's healthcare infrastructure,” he said.

The two-day event held on September 11 and 12, brought together 60 participants from 15 countries, alongside representatives from leading global organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 

Within the next one year, this cohort aims to come out with the A WHO-WIPO guidance on AI and IP with traditional medicine as a use case, and a global repository on traditional medicine with the use of AI and A Training Module on AI for traditional medicine experts.

“This global consultation is an invaluable opportunity to refine the draft policy on AI in traditional medicine. With inputs from diverse regions and sectors, we are optimistic about launching the technical brief by October 2024,” said Tanuja Nesari, Director, AIIA.

Manoj Jhalani, Director of Health Systems at WHO SEARO, pointed out that AI can lead to the discovery of new therapeutic approaches and optimisation of existing treatments. 

It will also boost the global relevance of traditional medicine.

--IANS

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