Sonowal calls for integrated AYUSH medicine departments in leading state hospitals of NER

GUWAHATI: The Regional Review Meeting of Northeastern States of India was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, along with Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways and Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal.

The Union Ayush Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, chaired the Regional Review Meeting of Northeastern States on Friday. During the meeting, all the participating states-Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura-presented detailed presentations on the state of Ayush and the progress of leading Ayush programmes under implementation.

Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, said, "Today we had a very fruitful discussion on the promotion and propagation of the Ayush system of medicine in the Northeast region of the country. Along with the rest of the world, the importance and popularity of traditional systems of medicine have increased significantly in our beautiful region of the Northeast. I must congratulate all our states in the region for taking on the onus in this regard, as is evident from the progress we have achieved in propagating the Ayush system of medicine in the region. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has made significant progress in reinventing the age-old and proven benefits of traditional systems of medicine to enrich the quality of people's lives. The Prime Minister has not only encouraged the use of traditional medicine in India but has also led a global movement to invest, innovate, and integrate traditional medicine with modern medicine to develop a holistic line of healthcare solutions aimed at enriching the quality of lives. In this spirit, I would like to call on all the states of northeast India to explore the possibility of setting up an integrated Ayush Department in all its leading state hospitals, in line with the setting up of similar departments in all 19 AIIMS under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We are presented with this unique opportunity to kick-start a movement to set up integrated medicine departments in all our leading state hospitals, thereby popularising and implementing the concept of integrated medicine to be emulated by the whole country. We, the people of the Northeast region, can realise the vision of Narendra Modi as the engine of India's movement towards holistic healthcare, further boost traditional medicine practices, and become the hub of an Ayush-led economic growth, promoting employment and trade for the region."

During the deliberations, the Health Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Alo Libang, said that the state is planning to set up a full-fledged Directorate of Ayush Healthcare Services to promote traditional medicine in the Himalayan state. A special Panchakarma Centre in the middle of Loktak Lake was proposed to be set up, as confirmed by the Health Minister of Manipur, Dr. Sapam Ranjan Singh. The Mizoram Health Minister, Dr. R. Lalthangliana also applauded the benefits of traditional medicine and how the Ayush gram Initiative and Jan Arogya Samiti are popularising the Ayush system of medicine in the state.

Adding further, Sarbananda Sonowal added, "PM Narendra Modi-led government has approved the operationalization of 12,500 Ayush Health and Wellness Centres (AHWCs) by the Ministry of Ayush through state governments as a component of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of the National Ayush Mission (NAM) in a phased manner by 2023-24." The main objectives are to establish a holistic wellness model based on AYUSH principles and practices, to empower the masses for 'self care' to reduce the disease burden and out-of-pocket expenditure, and to provide informed choice to the needy public. The Ministry of Ayush has released Rs. 449.64 crore to NE States under NAM from 2014-15 to 2022-23. The Ministry has also supported 33 integrated Ayush hospitals in NE states from 2014-15 to 2022-23, and out of those nine, nine are operational, as reported by states. Out of 12,500 AHWCs, the Ministry has supported 879 AHWCs in the NE States, and out of those, 492 are reported functional by the NE States."

The Ministry of Ayush is supporting the efforts of state and UT governments for the implementation of different activities as proposed by the states through their respective State Annual Action Plans (SAAPs) through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of the National Ayush Mission (NAM).

The National Ayush Mission (NAM) is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Ayush and is being implemented through state and UT governments for the development and promotion of Ayush systems in the country. The objective of this regional review meeting is to review the implementation of NAM in the NE States, knowledge sharing between the states, national institutes, and peripheral research institutes under the Research Councils of the Ministry of Ayush, and their active support for the implementation of the NAM scheme. (PIB)

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