New Delhi: On February 15th, Yoga and Ayush will shine worldwide, as Union Minister of Ayush and Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal stated during the Regional Review Meeting of six states: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh, organized by the Ministry of Ayush in Patna, Bihar today.
The Ministry of Ayush supports State/UT Governments’ efforts to implement various activities proposed by them through their respective State Annual Action Plans (SAAPs) under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the National Ayush Mission (NAM). NAM aims to provide Ayush healthcare services nationwide by strengthening and improving Ayush healthcare facilities, offering informed choices to the public in need. The Union Cabinet approved the operationalization of 12,500 Ayush Health and Wellness Centres (AHWCs) by the Ministry of Ayush through State/UT Governments as a component of NAM by the year 2023-24.
Since 2014-15, the Ministry of Ayush has released Rs 1712.54 Crores to 07 States (Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal) under NAM. The Ministry has also supported 58 Integrated Ayush hospitals in states until 2022-23, of which 14 are operational as reported by them. Out of 12,500 AHWCs, the Ministry has already supported 4235 AHWCs in these 07 States, of which 3439 are reported functional.
Under NAM, the Ministry has also supported the establishment of a New Ayurvedic Medical College in Ayodhya, a New Homoeopathic Medical College in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, during 2022-23, and a Yoga and Naturopathy College in Howrah, West Bengal.
The Union Minister personally urged the Ayush teams of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to expedite the construction work of Ayush Educational Institutes and make them functional at the earliest. He requested State Governments to expedite the construction works of approved Integrated Ayush hospitals and make them functional promptly to ensure people can access Ayush services.
The Union Minister also appealed to the States to emphasize the implementation of Ayush public Health Programs included in the NAM guidelines to provide various Ayush interventions to the community for a holistic approach to health. Programs such as Ayurvidya for promoting a healthy lifestyle among school children, Supraja for Ayush Maternal & Neonatal intervention, Vayomitra for Ayush-based geriatric programs, Prevention and management of Osteoarthritis and other Musculoskeletal disorders, Ayush Mobile Medical units, etc., will strengthen the Ayush systems. State Governments, especially Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, are also requested to implement the National Program on Ayush for Morbidity Management and Disability Prevention (MMDP) of Lymphatic Filariasis widely in prone areas.
During the event, Union Minister of State Dr. Munjapara Mahendabhai stated, “Ministry of Ayush has the National Institute of Homoeopathy in Kolkata, West Bengal, and a satellite institute, namely the National Institute of Unani Medicine in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, as well as 26 peripheral Central/Regional Research Institutes/Centres/Clinical Research Units/Drug standardization units, etc., under Research Councils in participating States. Most of them are present here and have been sensitized to provide support to State Governments for the implementation of various activities and Public Health Programs under NAM, including capacity building & training of State Programme Management Unit (SPMU)/ Community Health Officers (CHOs), Telemedicine, sharing of best practices of Public Health Programs, IEC, Monitoring, and field visits, etc.
Secretary Ministry of Ayush Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha stated in his speech that the National Ayush Mission is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Ayush, being implemented through State/UT Governments for the development and promotion of Ayush systems in the country. He mentioned that the budgetary provisions for the NAM Scheme have increased from 800 crores to 1200 crores compared to the previous year.
Joint Secretary Ministry of Ayush Kavita Garg presented a brief about the National Ayush Mission Status of the concerning states. During the regional review meeting, along with Ministers and Secretary Ministry of Ayush Leena Johari, Principal Secretary, Uttar Pradesh, Pratyay Amit, Additional Chief Secretary, Bihar Alankrita, Executive Director Ayush Bihar, and other dignitaries were also present at the event.