International Regulatory Cooperation for Herbal Medicines (IRCH)
Why it Matters?
India is hosting WHO-IRCH workshop on herbal medicine safety and efficacy at PCIM&H, CIM&H, Ghaziabad. As lead country for two WHO working groups, India aims to promote global regulatory convergence in traditional medicine.
What You Should Know?
WHO-IRCH workshop is jointly organised by Ministry of Ayush and World Health Organization (WHO).
The focus was on Safety, efficacy, and regulation of herbal medicines.
Participants included WHO member states (Poland, Nepal, Bhutan, Japan, Cuba, Iran, Indonesia, Brunei), observer states (Sri Lanka, Paraguay), and virtual attendees (USA, Egypt, Brazil).
India is lead country for Working Group 1 – Safety and Regulation and Working Group 3 – Efficacy and Intended Use.
PCIM&H stands for Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy and is under the Ministry of Ayush.
International Regulatory Cooperation for Herbal Medicines (IRCH)
IRCH is a global network established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2006.
Its aim is to promote international regulatory collaboration in the field of herbal medicines.
IRCH supports safe use, quality assurance, and efficacy evaluation of herbal medicines across WHO member countries.
The Ministry of Ayush and PCIM&H (Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy) represent India in IRCH.