The World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed the National Institute of Medical Heritage, Hyderabad (NIIMH) under the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Ministry of Health, India, as a WHO Collaborating Centre (CC) for “Basic and Literary Research in Traditional Medicines” (CC IND-177). This prestigious recognition will be valid for a period of four years, starting from June 3, 2024.
Founded in 1956, NIIMH, Hyderabad is a unique institution dedicated to documenting and presenting medical history research in Indian Ayurveda, Yoga Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, Homeopathy, Biomedicine and other allied medical disciplines. NIIMH has achieved this incredible milestone with constant scrutiny and dedication under the dedicated leadership of Prof. Vaidya Rabinarayan Acharya, Director General, CCRAS and Head, WHO-CC.
Prof. Acharya said, “This designation by WHO is an important milestone and reflects the Institute’s tireless efforts in the field of traditional medicine and historical research.” The Institute has pioneered various digitisation initiatives on Ayush including the AMAR portal which has catalogued 16,000 Ayush manuscripts, with 4,249 digitised manuscripts, 1,224 rare books, 14,126 catalogues and 4,114 periodicals. The SAHI portal showcases 793 medical historical artefacts while the E-Books Ayush project provides digital versions of classical textbooks. The NAMASTE portal collects cumulative morbidity statistics from 168 hospitals and the Ayush Research portal has indexed 42,818 Ayush research papers.
NIIMH has a collection of over 500 manuscripts and its Medical Heritage Museum and Library displays rare books and manuscripts dating back to the 15th century. The institute also publishes the Journal of Indian Medical Heritage. More information about the institute can be found here. [NIIMH Official Website](http://niimh.nic.in).
India has around 58 WHO Collaborating Centres across various fields of biomedical and allied sciences. Notably, CCRAS-NIIMH, Hyderabad, has joined as the third WHO Collaborating Centre in the field of traditional medicine after the Ayurveda Education and Research Institute, Jamnagar and Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), New Delhi.
As the first WHO Collaborating Centre on “Basic and Textual Research on Traditional Medicine”, NIIMH is tasked with assisting WHO in standardising Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa Rigpa terminology and updating Traditional Medicine Module II of the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11).Furthermore, the WHO Collaborating Centre will support Member States in developing research methodologies on traditional medicine.
This designation is a testament to the leadership and efforts of Dr Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Director General (Ayush), Government of India, and the technical guidance and support of Dr Pawan Ghodatwar, Technical Officer, WHO-SEARO, New Delhi, and Dr Pradeep Kumar Dua, Technical Officer, TM Unit, WHO Headquarters.
The WHO Collaborating Centre for ‘Basic and Textual Research in Traditional Medicines’ will be led by Prof. Vaidya Rabinarayan Acharya, Director General, CCRAS, in collaboration with the Literature and Basic Research team at CCRAS Headquarters, with a dedicated team including Assistant Director I/c & Unit Head Dr GP Prasad, Research Fellow (Ayurveda) Dr Vaidya Saketh Ram Thrigulla and Research Fellow (Ayurveda) Dr Santosh Mane from NIIMH, Hyderabad.
