Foreign delegates hail PM Modi’s global advocacy for ayurveda

Dehradun, Dec 13 (PTI) Foreign delegates at the 10th World Ayurveda Congress hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday for his global advocacy of ayurveda and called for more government-to-government efforts to secure wider recognition for it.

Making their presentations at the International Delegates Assembly (IDA) on the second day of the Congress, delegates from Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Portugal, Poland, Argentina and Brazil highlighted the growing demand for ayurveda in their countries, where it can only be offered as a lifestyle or wellness system at present.

They elaborated on the regulatory and other hurdles in the development of ayurveda and suggested ways in which the government and the World Ayurveda Foundation, organisers of the WAC, could help overcome those.

Around 300 delegates from different countries participated in the IDA.

Inaugurating the IDA, Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Union Secretary, AYUSH ministry, said the ministry supports all efforts to promote ayurveda around the globe.

The WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC) was set up in Gujarat’s Jamnagar in 2022 with a USD 250-million investment to raise the global profile of traditional medicine systems, he said.

Kotecha urged ayurveda stakeholders worldwide to work with the GTMC and Ayush ministry to address issues and concerns.

Ayurveda represents a USD 6.2-billion business in Australia, a country with a population of just 1.9 crore, said Dr Dileep Ghosh from the NICM Health Research Institute at the Western Sydney University.

This growth continues to attract intense lobbying against ayurveda by sections of the media, especially when there are negative reports, such as a recent ban on certain ayurvedic herbs in Europe, he said.

In Brazil, there are 4,000 ayurveda practitioners, with the law treating them as “therapists”, said Dr Jose Rugue, president of the World Movement for Yoga and Ayurveda who is associated with the Suddha Saba Yoga and Ayurveda Ashram in the South American country.

There are three ayurvedic centres in Rio de Janeiro, conducting limited research, and there is potential for more such centres, going by the demand, he added.

However, the ayurveda scene in Germany is starkly different, said Dr Harsha Gramminger, a pioneer in bringing ayurveda treatments and products to the European country.

She works at a hospital that offers integrated treatment with both ayurveda and allopathy.

“We have very good educational institutions and made great achievements (in ayurveda)…. I would like to see ayurveda in every hospital, offering medicines and not just food products,” she said.

The delegates from Nepal and Sri Lanka were happy with the growth of ayurveda in their countries. Dr M G Sajeewani, a consultant at Sri Lanka’s health ministry, noted that there are six university-affiliated institutes offering ayurveda degree courses.

Dr Pushpa Raj Poudel, Head of Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine at Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population, pointed out that the Himalayan nation is home to South Asia’s oldest pharmacy dating back three centuries. The ayurveda healthcare system is well developed and widely accepted by the society, he said.