News Excerpt:

The data and terminology relating to diseases based on Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani systems will now be included in the WHOs ICD11 classification.

About ASU:

Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani drugs, which are mainly poly-herbal/herbo-mineral preparations, are very different from synthetic molecules of the allopathic system which are produced under controlled laboratory conditions.   

• It depends on the quality and availability of raw materials of botanical origin.    
• Keeping this in view, the National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) was established in the year 2000 with the objective of in-situ conservation and ex-situ cultivation of quality medicinal plant raw materials.   
•  In view of environmental pollution the NMPB is examining how best to adopt Good Agricultural and Collection Practices for collection and cultivation of medicinal plants for ensuring quality raw material for ASU medicines.  
• As a large number of our forest dwellers and small landholders are engaged in collection and cultivation, these norms have to be adopted in a way that livelihood is not affected. 
• Both traditional and modern parameters are used for quality testing and standardization of raw materials as well as finished products.  
• Government has taken a number of legislative and administrative measures to regulate the manufacture and sale of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (ASU) drugs.  
• There is a separate Chapter IVA which regulates the manufacture and sale of ASU medicines in the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Key Points:

• ASU will be added in International Classification of Diseases (ICD). 
• The data and terminology relating to diseases based on Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani systems will now be included in the ICD11 classification of WHO. 
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a classification series called International Classification of Diseases (ICDs) to classify diseases internationally. 
• The global data on diseases currently available is mainly based on healthcare practices to be diagnosed through modern biomedicine. 
• The classification of data and terminology relating to diseases based on Ayush systems such as Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani etc. is not yet included in the WHO ICD series.
• Infectious diseases like Malaria and lifestyle diseases like chronic insomnia are included in this classification. Ayurveda, Siddhas, and Unani, Vertigo Guidance Disorder (parent name), commonly recognized by the three traditional systems, as a nervous system disorder known in Ayurveda as 'Bhramaha' siddha as 'Ajal Kirkrippu' and in Unani as 'Sadra-o-Dwar'.

India’s steps in this manner:

• Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) is an agency under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that serves as the WHO Collaboration Centre for ICD-related activities. 
• It facilitates the collection and dissemination of data on various diseases and mortality. 
• The Ministry of Ayush has already developed the Code for Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani Medicine through the National Ayush Morbidity and Standardized Electronic Portal (NAMSTE). 
• The Ministry of Ayush in collaboration with WHO has prepared a categorization of data and terminology related to diseases based on Ayush - Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani systems under TM2 module of ICD11 series. 
• The Ministry of AYUSH has also signed a Donor Agreement with the World Health Organization for the same.

About ICD:

• ICD serves a broad range of uses globally and provides critical knowledge on the extent, causes and consequences of human disease and death worldwide via data that is reported and coded with the ICD. 
• Clinical terms coded with ICD are the main basis for health recording and statistics on disease in primary, secondary and tertiary care, as well as on cause of death certificates.
• The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) has been the basis for comparable statistics on causes of mortality and morbidity between places and over time.

Effective for India’s Growth (Way Forward):

• Global Uniformity: This effort will lead to global uniformity in ASU (Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha) medicine as a code of vocabulary defining diseases. 

• Strengthen and expand India’s public healthcare: This effort will further strengthen and expand India’s public healthcare delivery system, research, Ayush insurance coverage, research and development, and policy-making systems.
• Formulation of future strategies: In addition, these codes will also be used in the formulation of future strategies to control various diseases in the society. 
• Internationally Recognition: Under ICD-11, there will be an international coding of such terminology and the names and data of prevalent diseases of Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani Medicine will be notified in the code internationally through the TM 2 module.
• Benefit for other member countries: Many other member countries of the World Health Organization are also willing to implement a similar format to include the terminology of traditional medical diseases in the ICD.