NEW DELHI, Feb 12:
India has a pluralistic healthcare delivery system where the Government provides opportunity to every recognised medical system to develop and practice with a view to provide integrated and holistic healthcare services, Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said today.
In his inaugural speech at the ‘International Conference on Traditional Medicine for South East Asian Countries’, Mr Azad said it was open to patronising best practices and proven standards for the benefit of the people.
“There is a peaceful co-existence of Allopathy with Ayurveda, Yoga, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa, Unani and Homoeopathy in our country,” Mr Azad said.
He said all these medical systems were being utilised in the national healthcare delivery system, each to its potential and availability in different parts of the country.
The aim was to provide accessible, affordable, safe and quality healthcare to the people, he added.
“There is a separate Department of AYUSH for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa and Homeopathy in the Health Ministry to look after traditional medicine,” he maintained.
Traditional medicine services have been incorporated in the public health delivery system since 1960s when AYUSH facilities were set up under one roof in the Central Government Health Scheme dispensaries for the benefit of central government employees, he informed.
The process of mainstreaming has been further augmented under the National Rural Health Mission, with co-location of traditional medicine and homeopathy facilities in the primary health network and capacity building of AYUSH practitioners in the national programmes of reproductive and child health, safe child birth, school health, anaemia control and malaria eradication, he added.
Mr Azad said in order to strengthen the AYUSH systems and their re-validation, various initiatives have been taken by the Health Ministry.
These include infrastructure development by establishing five Research Councils dedicated for research in each of the AYUSH systems, establishment of Pharmacopoiea Commission of Indian Medicine for developing standards of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani drugs, promoting collaboration among various research councils under different ministries and in universities and organisations, he added.
The interdisciplinary research involving scientists of basic sciences, chemists, pharmacologists, biologists as well as engineers has also been encouraged in core areas of research in AYUSH systems, he informed.
These include fundamental research comprising interpretation and re-validation of basic principles of AYUSH systems, literature research covering revival, preservation, translation, critical analysis, systematization and publication of manuscripts, drug research including Medical, Ethnic and Botanical Surveys, Cultivation of Medicinal Plants, Standardisation and quality control, Preclinical safety, toxicity and biological activity screening and Clinical Research encompassing observation studies and phased clinical trials, the minister said.
AYUSH drugs are being studied with advanced techniques for their activity on immune systems in disease like HIV-AIDS, for anti-cancer activity and anti-diabetic activity and in order to make research findings in AYUSH systems and allied faculties accessible through the web, the Department of AYUSH has developed an ‘AYUSH research portal’ which can be accessed by everyone, he informed.
Mr Azad said the South-East Asian (SEA) countries have a rich heritage of several systems of traditional medicine.
“They have vast resources of medicinal plants and huge repositories of knowledge. Different systems of traditional medicine have been used in the South-East Asia Region (SEAR) countries for centuries. Due to this long history, the role of Traditional Medicine and its practitioners have been recognized by the governments in this region,” he said.
WHO regional office has also been assisting South East Asia Region countries to promote the use of Traditional Medicine so that this valuable resource is utilised safely and effectively, he informed.
Addressing the inaugural programme WHO Regional Director General Samlee Plianbangchang outlined the steps to be taken for promoting the traditional medicine in SEARO countries. (UNI)
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