New Delhi, August 23: The growing interest of World Health Organisation in traditional medicines has taken a concrete shape in a collaborative research project on Ayurvedic treatment for rheumatism proposed to be carried out in Coimbatore.The WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, Dr. V.T.H. Gunaratne, had stated at the meeting of the WHO Regional Advisory Committee on Medical Research here recently that the wealth of traditional medicine in the countries of the region should not be neglected. He wanted research into this indigenous source to be stimulated to improve the health of the people and disclosed that a joint team of WHO and Indian Council of Medical Research had recently visited the Ayurvedic Trust at Coimbatore to explore the feasibility of conducting joint research on rheumatism.Enquiries show that Dr. P. Diesh of WHO and Dr. V. N. Rao of ICMR who had visited Coimbatore in this context are now drawing up the details of the proposed project in which ICMR, WHO and the Ayurvedic Trust will collaborate.The main object of the project is to evaluate scientifically the claims made in favour of Ayurvedic cure for different kinds of rheumatic diseases and follow it up with studies to find out the basic principles on which the curative drugs act. Published - August 26, 2026 03:14 am IST