Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, “Our rich heritage and potential of traditional form of medicine has withstood the test of time in generations of humanity to live a better, healthier and happier life.
We must take full advantage of these generous forms of medicine – be it Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Yoga, Naturopathy, Sowa Rigpa, or Homoeopathy. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, we have been working towards scientifically integrate traditional forms of medicine with modern medicine.”
Highlighting the utility of Ayush system of medicine the Minister further said, “Ayush has some robust programmes like Ayurvidya for promotion of healthy lifestyle through Ayush for school children; Supraja: Ayush for Maternal & Neonatal intervention; Vayomitra which is Ayush based geriatric programme; Prevention and management of Osteoarthritis and other Musculoskeletal disorders, Ayush Mobile Medical units etc. will strengthen the Ayush systems.”
The Ministry of Ayush is working on the operationalisation of 12,500 Ayush Health and Wellness Centres (AHWCs) through support of State/UT Governments under National Ayush Mission (NAM) by the 2023-24.
The main objectives are to establish a holistic wellness model based on Ayush principles and practices, to empower masses for “self-care” to reduce the disease burden, out of pocket expenditure and to provide informed choice to the needy public. Ministry of Ayush has so far released Rs. 719.70 crores to southern states/UTs (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Telangana) under NAM since 2014-15. Ministry has also supported 17 Integrated Ayush hospitals in Southern States and out of that 06 are operational as reported by them. Out of 12,500 AHWCs, Ministry has already supported 2181 AHWCs in Southern States/UTs and out of that 1518 are reported functional by the them.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Munjpara Mahendrabhai said, “I believe we have to emphasize outcomes as a more meaningful measure of programme value than output. We may have to realign our strategies and techniques to plan, execute and report our performance that facilitates measure of outcomes. I am confident that such discussions will give us an opportunity to learn from each other best practices and building a strong bonding among all of us.”
