Batting for alternative medicines, a Parliamentary panel has asked the Government to exploit Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) strengths for better management of Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like heart attack, cancer, diabetes and respiratory diseases which are the leading causes of deaths in the country.
“Since NCDs often require life-long management, the Committee is of the view that AYUSH has huge potential for safe and cost-effective management of such lifestyle diseases. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Union Health Ministry should exploit AYUSH strengths for the management of the NCDs,” said the panel headed by Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav.
The report, which has been tabled in Parliament last week, noted that despite launch of the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDS) programme, efforts to tackle them are grossly insufficient and a lot more needs to be done to cater to these challenges.
A National Multi Sectorial Action Plan (NMAP) has been prepared in coordination with WHO and shared with 39 Central Government Ministries/Departments but it is yet to see the light of the day, being stuck at the approval stages, the report noted.
“At this rate the implementation of the plan (2016-22) looks tardy. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Department should fix a deadline for the implementation of the National Multi-sectoral Action Plan,” it said.
The Ministry in its reply said that the government through its research organizations has launched pilot project on ‘Integration of AYUSH with NPCDCS’ in six districts viz. Darjeeling (West Bengal) and Krishna (Andhra Pradesh) for Homoeopathy; Gaya (Bihar), Bhilwara (Rajasthan) and Surendranagar (Gujarat) for Ayurveda; and lakhimpur Kheri (Uttar Pradesh) for (Unani).
In fact, it is not only Parliamentary panel, but even the Government organizations like Defence Research Development Organisations (DRDO) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are taking up research in a big way to scientifically develop herbal based formulations like recently launched anti-diabetic drug BGR-34 for controlling the disease as many herbs have been found to be matching the efficacy level of any branded modern medicine.