National
IFFCO Nano DAP (Liquid) Plant at Gandhidham
⇒ Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah performed the Bhumi Pujan and laid the foundation stone of IFFCO Nano DAP (Liquid) Plant at Gandhidham, Gujarat, on 12 August 2023.
- Union Minister of Cooperation said that IFFCO has not borrowed a single rupee from the bank for the plant which will be set up in Gandhidham at a cost of about Rs 350 crore on 70 acres, IFFCO has 100 percent equity in it.
- He said that the upcoming plant at Gandhidham would produce more than IFFCO’s existing plant producing 3 million tonnes of DAP.
- Liquid fertilizer is going to give multi-dimensional benefits to the country’s economy and agriculture sector. Spraying of Nano DAP (liquid) will not pollute the land, which will further ease the natural farming, increase soil fertility along agricultural production and will promote the land conservation.
International
WHO’s first ever Global Summit on Traditional Medicine
⇒ The First WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit took place on 17 and 18 August 2023 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
- The summit was a Co-branded event as part of the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat from 17th to 19th August.
Organised by:
- The first-of-its-kind global summit on Traditional Medicine was organised by the World Health Organization (WHO).
- WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit was co-hosted by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the Ministry of Ayush.
Theme:
The two-day summit with the theme “Towards Health and Well-being for All”, explored the role of traditional complimentary and integrative medicine in addressing pressing health challenges and driving progress in global health and sustainable development.
Key Points:
- The summit witnessed detailed deliberation and knowledge sharing on various facets of Traditional Medicine in the world, ranging from the need, impact, innovation, and data on use of traditional systems of medicine.
- Deliberations were done on varied topics like Health and well-being of people and the planet, research and evidence, universal health coverage, primary health care and health systems, Data & routine information systems, digital health frontiers, biodiversity and sustainability, human rights, equity and ethics.
- A dedicated exhibition for traditional medicine, showcasing the value, and diversity in traditional medicine across the globe was also inaugurated as part of the Summit.
- The event witnessed the participation of scientists, practitioners of traditional medicine, health workers and members of the civil society organizations from across the world.
Gujarat Declaration:
World Health Organization (WHO) has released the outcome document of first WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit 2023 in form of “Gujarat Declaration” in September 2023.
- The declaration reaffirmed global commitments towards indigenous knowledges, biodiversity and traditional, complementary and integrative medicine.
- WHO underlined that the application of rigorous scientific methods is needed to better understand, assess and, where appropriate, apply more holistic, context-specific, complex and personalized approaches for health and well-being for all.
- Gujarat declaration talks about scaling up efforts to further implement evidence-based TCIM (Traditional complimentary integrative medicine) interventions and approaches in support of the goal of universal health coverage (UHC) and all health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It states the role of multi-regional, multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder collaborations demonstrated at the Global Summit through the WHO GCTM that is aligned with and complementary to the work of WHO major offices, to maximize evidence based benefits of TCIM in global health.
- Support the evidence-based integration in national health policies and systems based on the highest quality research. Accelerate the production, regulation, and formal utilization of scientifically proven TCIM products and practices. Advance policies that promote standardized TCIM documentation, including through expanded and accelerated use of the WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) to enable integration of evidence and data collection on TCIM in a standardized way within routine health information systems. Establish a global network of TCIM reference clinical centres that can routinely undertake standardized data collection and monitoring based on WHO ICD-11 coding of the implementation.
Background:
- In 2022, WHO, with the support of the Government of India, established the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine.
- Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, laid the foundation stone of WHO-GCTM last year in the presence of the Director-General, WHO, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
- The centre is a collaborative project of the Ministry of Ayush of India and the World Health Organization (WHO) and is the first and only global outpost for traditional medicine across the globe.
- The WHO GCTM will provide leadership on all global health matters related to traditional medicine as well as extend support to member countries in shaping various policies related to traditional medicine research, practices and public health.
- In a significant move, the WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine was held in Gujarat.
Important Day
International Youth Day 2023
⇒ International Youth Day is observed globally on August 12th each year, highlighting the importance of young individuals in shaping the world’s future.
- The day serves as a platform to raise awareness about youth-related issues and celebrate the contributions of young people across various sectors.
Theme:
The theme of International Youth Day 2023 was “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World”.
History:
- In 1998, a resolution proclaiming 12 August as International Youth Day was adopted by the first session of the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth, which was hosted by the Government of Portugal in cooperation with the United Nations (Lisbon, 8-12 August 1998).
- That recommendation was subsequently endorsed by the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/54/120 entitled “Policies and programmes involving youth”.
- On 17 December 1999, in its resolution 54/120, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth that 12 August be declared International Youth Day.
- International Youth Day was first celebrated on August 12, 2000.
Death
Renowned social activist and founder of Sulabh International, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak
⇒ Renowned social activist and founder of Sulabh International, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak passed away on 15 August 2023 in New Delhi.
- The 80-year-old was the founder of Sulabh International, an India-based social service organisation which works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, waste management and reforms through education.
- He was presented with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Academics and Management for the year 2017.
- He was conferred the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award, in 1991.