Five-Day WHO-IHCI Workshop Sets Framework for Indian Traditional Health Codes

Delhi witnessed the launch of an intensive five‑day workshop on July 14, coordinated by the Ministry of Ayush in partnership with the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Health Interventions (WHO‑ICHI) program. The gathering, held at the National Indian Institute of Medical Heritage, assembled expert coders, health informaticians and senior officials from Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani traditions.

The core objective is to develop a scientifically robust, tiered coding hierarchy for the National Health Intervention Code (NHIC) specific to ASU systems. Secretary Vaidey Rajesh Koticha stressed that integrating Standard Health Terminology is essential for the interventions to become part of the modern digital health ecosystem, aligning with global health informatics standards.

Joint Secretary Dr. Kavita Jain highlighted the policy ramifications of digitising centuries‑old practices, while WHO delegates Dr. Robert Jacob and Dr. Stephen Espinosa presented insights on global data interoperability and the necessity of aligning with universal health coverage frameworks.

Statistical outcomes from the workshop reveal that the Siddha code set will encompass 25 specialties, 130 therapies and 996 procedures, whereas Unani will include 15 specialties, 179 therapies and 551 procedures. These figures illustrate the depth of codification required to ensure that India’s traditional medical knowledge can be seamlessly exchanged, analyzed and applied within international health information systems.