GUWAHATI: To promote traditional Northeastern medicines and their integration with modern practices, the Centre has called upon all the states in the region to consider establishing integrated Ayush departments in key state hospitals.
Speaking at the Regional Review Meeting of the department in Guwahati on Friday, Union Ayush minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, “I would like to call upon all the states of Northeast 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.”
The meeting, which was ceremonially inaugurated by Chief Minister Himanta Sarma, was attended by Health minister and officials from all the eight states.
Revealing a progressive graph of how the Ayush medicine system is faring in Arunachal Pradesh, Health Minister Alo Libang said that the state is planning to set up a full-fledged Directorate of Ayush Healthcare Services to promote traditional medicine.
His Manipur counterpart, Dr Sapam Ranjan Singh, also informed that a special Panchakarma Centre in the middle of Loktak Lake is coming up in the state.
Sonowal further informed that the Centre has approved 12,500 Ayush Health and Wellness Centres (AHWCs) through the Ministry of Ayush in the country. “These are a component of Centrally sponsored Scheme (CSS) of National Ayush Mission (NAM) and will be rolled out in a phased manner in 2023-24. Out of 12,500 AHWCs, the Ministry has supported 879 AHWCs in the Northeastern states,” he said.
Informing that the Ministry of Ayush has released Rs 449.64 crores to the Northeast under NAM from 2014-15 to 2022-23, Sonowal highlighted the main objective of the department. “To encourage adoption of a holistic wellness model based on AYUSH principles and practices,” he said.
