LEVERAGING AYUSH IN THE TIME OF COVID-19
Abstract
The Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy collectively known as AYUSH constitute of almost half of the healthcare resources of India. The public health emergency preparedness for COVID-19 needs to be inclusive of these complementary systems of medicine. The Ministry of AYUSH has initiated certain public health training for practitioners of AYUSH, and disseminated immunity boosting protocol to sensitize communities. There is ample scope for these systems of medicine to be better utilized for their prophylactic strength during this pandemic. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and AYUSH Ministry have initiated few preventive and clinical studies. There is need to expedite treatment avenues suggested in AYUSH systems to manage COVID-19.
Keywords: AYUSH, COVID-19, Health Policy, Ayurveda, Homoeopathy
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