Ayush Ministry launches workshop on WHO's ICHI framework for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani

📌 Summary:

• The Ministry of Ayush launched a five-day (13-17 July 2026) Editorial Workshop to develop the content model and refine the Alpha Draft of the WHO's International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) for Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (ASU) systems
• Aim: position India's traditional medicine systems within the global digital health ecosystem and universal health coverage frameworks
• Organised by the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) through its WHO Collaborating Centre — the National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage (NIIMH), Hyderabad
• Building a layered hierarchy of National Health Intervention Codes (NHIC); the validated repository covers Ayurveda (13 specialties, 76 therapies, 714 procedures), Siddha (25/130/996) and Unani (15/179/551)
• Standardised terminologies will help integrate Ayush interventions into modern health informatics and digital health records

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 (Governance/Health) — standardisation of traditional medicine, global health governance, and India's health soft power.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• ICHI (International Classification of Health Interventions) is a WHO classification that complements the ICD
• CCRAS is the apex Ayurveda research body under the Ministry of Ayush
• NIIMH, Hyderabad is a WHO Collaborating Centre

🔑 Key Term: ICHI — WHO's International Classification of Health Interventions, a standardised coding system for medical, surgical and public-health interventions.