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Government of India has taken note of the importance of AYUSH in view of need to improve immunity of every individual. Ministry of AYUSH has undertaken following steps to propagate AYUSH among the public during COVID-19 outbreak:
(I) Ministry of AYUSH issued an advisory on 29.01.2020 on how to protect oneself from COVID and how to stay healthy. Ministry has written a letter on 06.03.2020 to all Chief Secretaries of States / Union territories with more specific suggestions on augmentation of General Immunity of people and about possible AYUSH intervention. Ministry has also issued self-care guidelines on 31.03.2020 for preventive health measures and boosting immunity with special reference to respiratory health.
(II) Considering the importance of immunity boosting measures in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, Ministry of AYUSH has promoted use of ready-made Ayush formulation i.e. ‘Ayush Kwath’(Ayurveda) or ‘Ayush Kudineer’(Siddha) or ‘Ayush Joshanda’ (Unani) in the interest of health promotion to the masses.
The Ministry of AYUSH has released “National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga for management of COVID-19” prepared by National Task force which in consensus from expert committees from All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), Delhi, Institute of Post Graduate Training and Research in Ayurved (IPGTRA), Jamnagar, and National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), Jaipur, Central Council for Research in Ayurveda (CCRAS), Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN) and other national research organizations as per the Report & Recommendations of the Interdisciplinary Committee wherein guidelines for post-covid care have been mentioned. This protocol is based on:
i. Knowledge from Ayurveda literature and clinical experience
ii. Empirical evidences and Biological plausibility
iii. Emerging trends of ongoing clinical studies
The salient features of this protocol include management of prophylactic, Asymptomatic, Mild and Moderate cases of COVID-19 along with of post-management.
Ministry of AYUSH had launched a three-month campaign called “AYUSH for Immunity” that aimed to increase awareness among the masses, regarding the effective home care solutions and recommended AYUSH practices, to help them to enhance their immunity. During the entire campaign, series of events, such as social media contests, online discourses and virtual seminars were carried out, which further increased the reach of Ministry of AYUSH among various sections of the society, within India and abroad. The interest in traditional and non-conventional systems of healthcare recognized by the Government of India increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The key objective of the campaign was to acquaint the people with information about the strengths of various AYUSH-based solutions for enhancing healthy lifestyle and preventing the occurrence of diseases. It was a theme-based campaign, covering the Aahara, Vihaara, and Nidra themes, for the months of September, October, and November 2020 respectively. Various outreach activities were conducted by different institutions, for public awareness. The Ministry of AYUSH had organized a formal inaugural event for AYUSH for Immunity campaign, on the 14th of August 2020, on its AYUSH Virtual Convention Centre (AVCC) platform.
The Ministry of AYUSH has been implementing Central Sector Scheme for Information, Education and communication (IEC) with following components for adequate dissemination of information throughout the Country;
- Organization of Arogya Fairs both at the National and State Level;
- Organization of Ayurveda Parv and Yoga Fest/Utsav etc.
- Participation in Health Fairs/ Melas/Exhibitions organized by Government Departments, State Governments and other reputed AYUSH Organizations;
- Preparation and distribution of authentic Publicity material on AYUSH Systems including Multi-media/print media campaigns and platforms, audio visual materials for popularization of AYUSH Systems;
- Activities and programmes undertaken by the Ministry and its autonomous bodies to achieve the objectives listed at 2 above. This would include activities taken up in connection with the observation of designated “Days” of the different AYUSH systems, like the International Day of Yoga, Ayurveda Day, mega event namely Ayush Conclave as flagship programme for conducting annually for general public and other stakeholder in the field of Ayush.
- Providing financial assistance to reputed organizations, AYUSH specific NGOs, educational/ research institutes for organizing Seminars, Conferences, Symposiums, Workshop, meeting, etc. on AYUSH Systems.
- Providing incentives to AYUSH Industry to participate in National and State Arogya Fairs/ Melas organized by Central/ State Governments/ Government organizations/ reputed organizations like Chemexil, Pharmexcil, CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, ITPO etc. at State/ National level.
- Conducting virtual webinars / exhibitions on Ayush related topics.
- Media campaign through social media.
The Minister of State (The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy), Kiren Rijiju (Additional Charge as Ayush Minister) stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha here today.
