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WHO chief likes being called ‘Tulsi bhai’ by PM Modi; ‘has medicinal benefits’
PM Modi earlier addressed the WHO chief as ‘Tulsi bhai’ to give a Gujarati touch during welcoming him to India.
World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday arrived at Gujarat to attend several conventions on health and medicine and Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed him and accorded him a Gujarati name ‘Tulsi bhai’. Reacting to the newfound name, the WHO chief said he like being called by a name that makes him a ‘pucca Gujarati’.
“I like the name Tulsi Bhai because the 'Tulsi'is a medicinal plant. I just planted Tulsi here in the Wellness Centre. I'm really happy to do that because it has many benefits,” he said after visiting a health and wellness centre in Gandhinagar.
Earlier, PM Modi shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) of Union AYUSH ministry where the WHO chief was shown taking part in a dandiya dance at a venue. “My good friend Tulsi Bhai is clearly well prepared for Navratri! Welcome to India, @DrTedros!” he said.
The name was first given to him the Prime Minister at the Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit last year, where he said that Ghebreyesus had asked him for a name after he became a ‘pucca Gujarati’. "Tedros is a good friend of mine. He always told me Indian teachers taught me and I am here because of them. Today he told me - 'I have become a pucca Gujarati. Have you decided a name for me?' So I will call him Tulsi bhai as a Gujarati," PM Modi said last year.
The WHO chief will take part in the ministerial meeting on ending TB, WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit and G20 health ministers' meeting.
The sessions will be focused on research, evidence and learning, policy, data and regulation, innovation and digital health, biodiversity, equity and traditional healthcare knowledge.
“The WHO has been collaborating with member countries in the region to strengthen pharma co-vigilance and research capacity and set benchmarks for training and practices in several traditional medicine systems in the region to assess the efficacy of product”, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, told PTI.
The ministry will also be organising yoga and meditation sessions at the Convention Centre. There also will be yoga and meditation sessions at hotel venues, as well as short Yoga breaks at Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre between sessions, ANI reported.
Ghebreyesus also lauded the Centre's primary healthcare scheme Ayushman Bharat. “The investment in primary healthcare in Ayushman Bharat initiative by the Government of India is the right investment,” he added.
