Sarbananda Sonowal spoke about the challenges faced by traditional Indian medicine.
The Ministry of AYUSH, in association with the Government of Gujarat, is organizing the Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit (GAIIS) from April 20-22. The event will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth and World Health Organization (WHO) Director General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus.
in front of meetingUnion Minister (AYUSH), Sarbananda Sonowal spoke to NDTV.com where he talked about the need to organize a global summit, the challenges faced by traditional Indian medicine and the role of AYUSH during the COVID-19 pandemic .
Question: What is the need to organize a Global AYUSH Summit?
Sarbananda Sonowal: After the pandemic, collective faith in traditional medicine has increased all over the world. Even today, a large part of the population in most countries of the world relies on traditional medicine as the first point of treatment.
Investment is needed to promote innovation. The objective of the Global AYUSH Summit is to bring together investors, policy makers and international as well as national stakeholders to see what progress has been made in the sector and how with the right incentives the sector can grow and benefit people and the planet. can benefit. The AYUSH sector has been accepted across the globe, and we believe that it is the responsibility of our ministry to ensure the benefits of our AYUSH knowledge, through such summits, reach every nook and corner of the world. . Additionally, when it comes to traditional medicine, there is a growing enthusiasm among the youth, and we are more interested with the summit among young traditional medicine practitioners, healthcare workers and start-ups to take the traditional medicine system to the world. want to be born.
Q: What are your expectations from the Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit?
Sarbananda Sonowal: Our hopes are to be able to demonstrate the potential and innovation of traditional medicine. We will do this by showcasing how the Ministry of AYUSH is creating a conducive environment for fostering innovation and entrepreneurship by creating new horizons in the fields of technology, aggregation and blockchain initiatives. This will help bring investment in the sector which has seen tremendous growth in the last few years.
By the end of the summit, we want to prove to people around the world that traditional medicine can allow for greater personal autonomy and control over healthcare decisions. The event will also ensure that India is positioned as a global AYUSH destination.
Question: Has the Government of India or the ministry set a number for the amount of investment it expects during the summit?
Sarbananda Sonowal: The Global AYUSH Investment and Innovation Summit will have investor meets and industry interactions, which is likely to witness the potential of the AYUSH sector in the allopathy and pharma sector and the innovative technologies being used in the allopathy sector. It is expected that more investors may be willing to invest in the AYUSH sector. The summit can also help in creating an ecosystem for investment in AYUSH and adoption of latest technologies by the AYUSH pharma sector.
Question: The WHO chief will attend the AYUSH summit. Do you think it will help traditional Indian systems of medicine to gain global recognition?
Sarbananda Sonowal: Indian traditional medicine systems are already recognized globally. India has been the center of traditional systems of medicine – Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and homeopathy For thousands of years.
The fact that the first Global Center for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) is being set up in India is an acknowledgment of the same. It is a focal point for the development and knowledge-sharing of affordable and holistic healthcare, which will positively impact lives around the world. The presence of Dr. Tedros at the AYUSH summit is a matter of great pleasure for us and will certainly support the up-gradation of Indian traditional medicine systems in the eyes of the world.
Question: What do you think are the main challenges for AYUSH to become a strong alternative to modern medicine?
Sarbananda Sonowal: There is always a debate over the effectiveness of traditional medicines versus rest. This is also because older systems have not been able to deliver the same mileage as modern systems.
Traditional medicine too, like everything else, is influenced by social media “infodemic”. However, with the strong support of WHO, we expect more support and adoption for AYUSH in India and across the world.
We truly believe that the GCTM development and AYUSH summit will help in implementing the efficacy and innovation that this system of medicine is capable of. I am confident that our efforts will further enhance the therapeutic properties and benefits of our traditional systems of medicine.
Q: The increasing popularity of Yoga and Ayurveda around the world presents us with a ready market. What has the Government of India done to promote Ayurveda across the world?
Sarbananda Sonowal: Even today, about 80 percent of the world relies on traditional medicine for primary health care.
Our government has always promoted Yoga and Ayurveda in the world. Our constant engagement with stakeholders has established international yoga day And we have seen tremendous growth in the AYUSH sector in the last few years. Even during the pandemic, people turned to traditional medicine practices.
According to the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) report, the market size of AYUSH has grown by 17 percent from 2014 to 2020 to reach $18.1 billion. Globally also we are growing very fast. We have grown from 0.5 per cent market share in 2016 to 2.8 per cent now and are expected to grow further. We are well on track to reach our target of market size of $23.3 billion in 2022. We are very committed to the success of this region and the promotion of our traditional medicine systems to the world and hope that through the Investment Summit, we have been able to receive investment to promote. Extend it further.
Question: What is the government’s initiative to promote AYUSH and bring synergy between traditional and modern systems of medicine?
Sarbananda Sonowal: The ministry has recently introduced a large number of reforms. To name a few, in 2021, the ministry launched an online application system to make the process of granting licenses for manufacturing traditional medicines easier and more transparent. An MoU was signed between the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homeopathy (PCIM&H) and American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, USA to help strengthen, promote and develop standards in the field of Ayurveda and other Indian traditional medicines Had gone.
In addition, Ayurveda departments are to be opened in 19 AIIMS institutes as a step towards integrated health services. The Ministry of AYUSH, along with the Bureau of Indian Standards, is in the process of preparing standards for AYUSH systems. This effort will help in increasing international trade related to AYUSH products, services and equipment in 165 member states of ISO.
The Ministry of AYUSH is working closely with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to support mainstreaming the use of traditional medicines. Inter-Ministerial meetings are underway and action plans, implementation strategies etc. are being finalised.
Our constant endeavor is to strengthen, develop and promote standards within the AYUSH sector so that more and more people can experience and trust the benefits of Ayurveda and other traditional medicine systems that are deeply rooted in modern science.
Question: What role did the Ministry of AYUSH play during the COVID-19 pandemic and are there any plans to integrate education into the curriculum of Ayurvedic doctors?
Sarbananda Sonowal: To deal with the pandemic, the Ministry of AYUSH has taken several initiatives since the outbreak of the pandemic in India. For example, the Ministry issued various self-care/home care, preventive, therapeutic and practitioner guidelines and advisories relating to COVID, protracted COVID, and COVID management from time to time. Ministry of AYUSH in collaboration with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as well as State/UT Governments has trained and deployed AYUSH human resources for COVID management related activities. The States/UTs were advised to develop AYUSH hospitals with more than 50,000 beds, over 750 AYUSH colleges hospitals and 86 clinical facilities of National Institutes and Research Councils under the Ministry, by converting them into COVID related facilities appropriately. use infrastructure.
The Ministry of AYUSH through Research Councils and National Institutes under the Ministry collaborates with several research organizations to encourage, promote and advance evidence and harness the potential of AYUSH systems in controlling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Took several R&D initiatives. Research based on AYUSH systems. As a result of these efforts, 142 research studies of AYUSH systems related to COVID-19 have been started.
The ministry has also launched a dedicated community support helpline through toll-free number 14443 to provide AYUSH-based solutions and support the challenges arising due to COVID-19.
Ministry of AYUSH launched nationwide distribution drive of AYUSH 64 through 86 clinical units of Research Councils and National Institutes across the country.
To disseminate information on AYUSH R&D initiatives, and scientific publications related to COVID-19, a national repository has been developed. It is available on AYUSH Research Portal of Ministry of AYUSH.