treat for herpes

Healthcare practioner, Margarida da Costa, 62, of Curtorim has been giving traditional medicines for curing herpes for around 45 years by using the 'rozonn' plant (memecylon umbellatum).

Cabinet approves MoU between India, African nation in medicinal plants sector

New Delhi, Apr 25 : The government today gave an ex-post facto approval for an agreement signed between India and an African island nation, Sao Tome and Principe, to increase cooperation in the field of medicinal Plants.PTI  |  April 26, 2018, 05:13 IST


New Delhi, Apr 25 : The government today gave an ex-post facto approval for an agreement signed between India and an African island nation, Sao Tome and Principe, to increase cooperation in the field ofmedicinal Plants. 
The memorandum of understanding was signed on March 14 this year, an official statement said. 

The decision was taken in the Union Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here. 

The MoU assumes significance as there is global increase in traditional and alternative health care systems. 

It is resulting in world herbal trade which stands at USD 120 billion and is expected to reach USD 7 trillion by 2050, it said. 

"Moreover, there are large number of medicinal plants, particularly those found in tropical region, which are common to the two countries given similar geo-climatic factors," it added. 

India is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of biodiversity, having 15 agro-climatic zones. 

Out of the 17,000-18,000 species of flowering plants, more than 7000 are estimated to have medicinal usage in folk and documented systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha & Homoeopathy. 

About 1178 species of medicinal plants are estimated to be in trade of which 242 species have annual consumption levels in excess of 100 metric tonnes per year. 

Medicinal plants are not only a major resource base for the traditional medicine and herbal industry but also provide livelihood and health security to a large segment of Indian population. RR MR MR

via the surrogacy

WritPetitionPAP250418.pdf
Rarna Pandey vs Union OI l"(l a & Ors. orr 17 July,2015 Delhi High Court Rama l'andey vs Ur.riou Of hrdia & Ors. or.r 17 July. zot5 Author': Rajiv Shakdher' * IN IHE HIGII COURT OF DELHI AT NEI./ IEI.HI J uoqflten t reserved onr 12.12.201.4 % Judqftent delivered on: 17.07.2015 + WP(C) No. 844/2074 RAIV]A PANDEY PETITIONER Versus UNION OF INDIA & ORs, RES PONDENTS Advocates who appeared jn this case: For the Petitioner: Mr Sunit Kumar and Mr Rahut Sharma, Advocates For the Respondents: 14r Jasmeet Sj.ngh, CGSC v/lth Ms Kritika lulehra, Adv. for R-1' Mr S. Raiappa & Dr. Puran Chand, Advs. for R- 2 & 3. c0RAlvl: HON'8LE I.lR, JUSTICE RAJlV SHAKDHER RAJIV SHAKDHER, J FACTS r

r A synthesis of science and divinity (at least fo:: tliose who believe in it), led to the culmination of the petitioner's desire tor a child. Married, on 18.or'1998, to one Sh. Atul Pandey, the petitioner's, wish to have a child was fulfilled on 09.o2.2013, albeit via the surrogacy t'rtute. Her bundle ofjoy comprised of twins, who weLe born on the aforementioned date, at a city hospital.
conclusion

24, Irr view of tlie discussiolr above, the conclusiou tlrat I have reached is as follows :- 19 (i). A female employee, who is the coramissioning rnother, would be entitled to apply for materniry leave under sub-rule (D of Rule qS.
(ii). 'l'he cornpetent authority L::ised on nraterial placed before it would decide on the tiuring and thc period tbr whicli maternity leal'c ought to be glanted to a commissioning mother who adopts the surrogacy route. (iii). The scrutiny would be li,:l;:cl and detailed, rvhen leave is sought by a female ernployee, who is the cornmissioning rrother, Jt the pre-natal stage. In case maternity leave is declined at thc pl'e-natal stage, t-he competcnt hutlrority rvoulcl pass a reasoned older having regalcl to the uraterial, if any, piaced befole it, by thc funale ernployee, who seeks to avail maternity leave. ln a situalion where both the cotnrnissioning rnothcl and the surlogate rnothcl ale employees, l,hu ale othclwisc eligible fol leave (one on thc ground that she is a comnrissioning rnother and the other on the ground that she is the pregnaLt rvonren), a suitable adjustr.nent would be made by the col'npetent authoiity. (iv). In so far as grant ofleave q,.ra post-rlatal peliod is conccrned, the competcut autlrcr'ity lvouJcl oldinarill, grant such leave excr:-:t whele there ale substantial leasons fol declining a L equest made in that behalf. In this case as ',,;eii, the courpetent authority will pass a reasoned ordcr.
25.'l'he lvrit petition is disposr:d of, in the afbrerrentioned terrns. 26. Palties shall, however. beirl ilieil own costs. RAJIV SI{AKDIIER, J JULY 17, 2015 ld(/yg  

AYUSH should go AAYUSH

AYUSH ( AYURVEDA, YOGA,UNANI,SIDDHA,&HOMEOPATHY) should go 

AAYUSH  (ALLOPATHY& AYUSH)

Observer Research Foundation

ORF  25.04.2018

Harmonising AYUSH and modern medicine: Can India learn from China?

• OOMMEN C. KURIAN

While TCAM (Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine) and modern medicine stay as separate watertight compartments in theory, in practice, things have been quite different.

Photo: Kristoffer Trolle/CC BY 2.0

It was estimated by the World Health Organisationthat during the eighties, “in many countries, 80 per cent or more of the population living in rural areas (were) cared for by traditional practitioners and birth attendants.” The decades that followed saw an unprecedented expansion of biomedicine/western/modern medicine (often called “Allopathy”), and the proportion of the population in rural areas of low and middle income countries cared for by Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicine (TCAM) came down significantly. Yet, in large countries like India and China, TCAM still wields considerable policy influence.

In 2015, TCAM in China accounted for 16 per cent of total medical care, up from 14 per cent in 2011, asThe Economist observes. In India, TCAM accounts for a much lower proportion of overall medical care — data from National Sample Survey in 2014 indicates that only 6.9 per cent of patients seeking outpatient care opted for TCAM. In the case of hospitalised care, the proportion less than one per cent. Both Indian and Chinese health systems privilege biomedicine over TCAM, but the latter is recognised by the state and receives sizable state support.

In addition, its low penetration within the Indian population has not prevented TCAM — AYUSH (covering Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homoeopathy) as it is known in India- getting a separate central ministry in Indiain 2014. The AYUSH Ministry is responsible for policy formulation, development and implementation of programmes for the growth, development and propagation of TCAM medicine and treatment.

---

Both Indian and Chinese health systems privilege biomedicine over TCAM, but the latter is recognised by the state and receives sizable state support.

---

The first National Health Policy of India (1983) had observed that planned efforts should be made to dovetail the functioning of the practitioners and integrate services across different systems of medicine in the overall health care delivery system, especially with regard to the preventive, and public health objectives. It also noted that well-considered steps need to be taken to move towards a meaningful phased integration of the TCAM and the modern medicine systems. However, at a functional level, such integration did not happen in India, culminating in a separate ministry for TCAM, thus formalising the creation of a parallel structure in an already fund-starved sector.

The Chinese experience

Indian and Chinese health systems have interesting parallels — as Roemer (1991) observed, one of the first steps India took after independence in 1947 was to develop, with foreign advice, its own plants for producing drugs. Interestingly, China also did the exact same thing after the social revolution in 1949. Policy influence of TCAM is another striking similarity. However, what China strived to achieve through its health policies over decades was to integrate TCAM seamlessly within the overall health care delivery infrastructure.

Raffel (1984) shows that China’s health policy has been unique in the developing world as it tried to organise its health system around four basic principles in delivering health care services to its people:

• Put prevention first,
• Combine western and traditional medicine,
• Combine health with mass movements, and,
• Concentrate on rural areas.

Within these guiding principles, China proceeded to find solutions to the severest problem facing the health system: the shortage and disproportionate distribution of medical human power. The Chinese strategy was to distribute the scarce resources as widely as possible and to substitute less skilled labour for capital and skills that are more advanced. While a component of this Chinese approach, which considerably expanded access to health care featuring “barefoot doctors” is still widely talked about, the equally important TCAM component is often overlooked.

The TCAM physician in the Chinese case, served as a complement to physicians trained in modern medicine. Along with separate hospitals and clinics for TCAM (Figure 1), special wards within existing facilities were created, which helped increase health care utilisation.

Figure 1: Development of TCAM hospitals in China

Source: Liang Wang et al (2016)

China’s integration of TCAM into the national healthcare system was driven by the national planning need to provide comprehensive healthcare services to the general population. Traditional medicine was also viewed as part of an imperial legacy to be replaced by a secular healthcare system where TCAM was harmonised with modern medicine. Officials trained in modern medicine guided this process of integration. They followed a science-based approach to the education of traditional Chinese medicine, placing an emphasis on research.

Indian initiatives towards integration

While co-location of TCAM facilities within government hospitals practicing modern medicine is quite common in many Indian states, it was only as late as 2005 that India formally tried“mainstreaming of AYUSH and revitalisation of local health traditions” as part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). However, apart from their role in implementation of national health programmes, the TCAM and modern medicine systems have not been harmonised, and the “choice of treatment system” was left to the patient.

While TCAM and modern medicine stay as separate watertight compartments in theory, in practice, things have been quite different. As a system reeling under severe staff shortages (Figure 2), TCAM professionals practicing modern medicine on the frontlines is often unavoidable. However, the significant contributions of TCAM professionals in government hospitals in India are unreported, as they are not supposed to — strictly speaking — practice modern medicine.

Figure 2: Doctor shortages in Indian public hospitals: 2017

Source: Rural Health Statistics 2017 explained in 10 charts

Additionally, there is the very real risk of an untrained hand, however experienced she or he may be in practicing and prescribing modern medicine, causing harm to patients. Nevertheless, it occurs and the government acknowledges it. A study conducted under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) states: “Where there is no other doctor, they (AYUSH doctors) practice both Allopathy and AYUSH. This is specially marked at the PHC level in most states.”

Government reports often acknowledge that in many hospitals, although the service is provided by a TCAM doctor, data is reported under the name of some other doctor practicing modern medicine “for legal reasons.” Such ‘invisibilisation’ of the significant contribution of TCAM professionals to the health system is deeply problematic and unethical. Modern medicine and TCAM, which represent professionalised and codified medical systems need to be dovetailed, and the practice integrated in a way that will maximise access and clinical outcomes, keeping in mind national health goals. This makes a scientific approach inevitable. The ongoing Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial under the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) of anAyurvedic cure for Dengue is a very interesting development in this direction.

Health being a state subject adds an extra layer of complexity to any national level initiative. Indeed, there are states like Maharashtra who have adopted a realistic approach where TCAM professionals are allowed to practice modern medicine and prescribe drugs, after completing a one-year course. There isstrong resistance to any such initiative by professional bodies representing modern medicine.

---

There are states like Maharashtra who have adopted a realistic approach where TCAM professionals are allowed to practice modern medicine and prescribe drugs, after completing a one-year course.

---

Unfortunately, any effort by the central government to improve health access leveraging TCAM, taking a cue from the experiences such as China’s have been blocked by strong interests. The National Medical Commission Bill, 2017 tried to introduce specific educational modules or programmes for developing bridge courses across various systems of medicine thus promoting medical pluralism, but faced stiff opposition. Soon thereafter, a parliamentary panel on health recommended the government scrap the proposalfor the bridge course to allow AYUSH practitioners practice modern medicine citing patient safety.

However, studies prove that for any policy initiative safeguarding patient safety, streamlining the system of modern medicine itself should be the first step. After all, a World Health Organisation (WHO) study using the 2001 Census data discovered in 2016 that in 2001 nearly one-third of the practitioners calling themselves ‘allopathic doctors’ in India were educated up to only secondary school level, and 57.3 per cent of them did not have any medical qualification. In rural areas, only 18.8 per cent of ‘allopathic doctors’ had any medical qualification.

Ayushman Bharat as the way forward

With National Family Health Survey 4 showing that important indicators like full immunisation coverage are improving at a sluggish pace, it is supremely important to have a health workforce that has a shared understanding of national health goals, a common approach and scientifically proven tools. A fragmented system, with a possibility of different sections of workforce working at cross-purposes is a risk that needs addressing.

China successfully achieved universal health insurance coverage (UHC) in 2011, culminating an effort, widely known as “the largest expansion of insurance coverage in human history.” As India strives to reprise it, and achieve UHC through the ambitious Ayushman Bharat initiative, lessons from China’s TCAM approach, which is called “interpenetrative pluralism” by scholars may prove valuable. Like China has demonstrated, integration of TCAM into the national health care system needs to be accompanied by an integrated training of health practitioners, and both need to be officially promoted for optimal impact.

After a scientific process of integration, TCAM could have a considerable role in the proposed Health and Wellness Centres (HWC) across the country in preventing and managing non-communicable diseases. Adding TCAM procedures in the benefit package for the National Health Protection Mission (NHPM) may offer a significant opportunity to harmonise TCAM with modern medicine.

India’s doctor population ratio

India’s doctor population ratio healthy, Tamil Nadu fares better

DECCAN CHRONICLE.

Published  Apr 15, 2018, 2:42 am IST

India has a healthy doctor population ratio of 1:921 as of December 2017 and has a national average of six doctors for every 10,000 people.

India has a healthy doctor population ratio of 1:921 as of December 2017 and has a national average of six doctors for every 10,000 people. 
Tamil Nadu is way ahead of the national figures with eight doctors per 10,000 people and proving to be the medical capital Chennai has more than 18 doctors per 10,000.

With only allopathy doctors in the country, the ratio is 1:1596, however, the national average ratio of 1:921 also includes Ayurveda, Unani, Homeopathy and Ayush practitioners in the country.

There are more than seven lakh practitioners of alternative medicine in the country who make for a large share of the doctors in the country. Tamil Nadu also has the benefit of Siddha practitioners and major research institutes in the state.

Medical Council of India has more than 10 lakh medicos registered with the state branches of the council with Tamil Nadu constituting of more than one lakh medical practitioners registered with Tamil Nadu Medical Council.

“Tamil Nadu leads the national figures owing to 30 medical colleges and more number of registrations improve the doctor population ratio in the state,” said a senior official from State Health Department.

However, medicos say that other districts like Krishnagiri, Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur and Tiruvannamalai have a poor doctor population ratio, which fails to be determined because of lack of proper regulation. 

“We expect that Clinical Establishment Act will help to analyse the figures and ensure proper distribution of doctors in all the districts. The increase in the number of medical seats in the country would help enhance the figures across the country,” said Dr G. R. Rabindranath, secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality.

Tags: ayurveda, doctor population

NMC BILL as wish

[Print]   [Close]

Cabinet clearance for NMC Bill amendments leaves Ayush doctors fuming Arun Sreenivasan, New Delhi, Saturday, March 31, 2018, 08:00 Hrs  [IST] The Union Cabinet’s green light to National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill amendments, including removal of the contentious bridge course provision that would have allowed practitioners of alternative medicines to pursue allopathy, has left thousands of Ayush doctors in the country angry and dejected. The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on March 28 essentially approved the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee report tabled in Parliament on March 20. The panel had sought to make the bridge course non-mandatory. Ayush practitioners and their associations have been holding rallies and sit-ins across the country in support of the bridge course claiming that it would plug the gap in the healthcare coverage by addressing the abysmal doctor-patient ratio in the country. “The Cabinet decision is indeed a blow to Ayush sector and setback for healthcare in the country. A bridge course would have plugged the gaps in healthcare manpower especially in rural areas. The House panel was influenced by rumours spread by modern medicine practitioners,” vice-president of Ayush Medical Association (Ayushma) Haryana Chapter Dr Sada Singh told Pharmabiz. Ayushma is an organisation which represents registered Ayush doctors in India with representation in 28 states. Though some Ayush medical associations don’t bat for a bridge course, all are unanimous in their view that its scrapping will deal a body blow to healthcare. “We, as an association of medical professionals, have never pitched for a bridge course though we were ready to support the initiative to help meet shortage of medical practitioners in villages. Having said that, I think an integration of traditional and modern systems of medicine is possible and advisable. At the end of the day, it would have been beneficial for patients,” says Dr Sadath Dinakar, the newly elected general secretary of Ayurveda Medical Association of India. The bridge course provision was included in the bill by the government to meet the huge shortage of medical professionals. Doctor-to-patient ratio in India is 0.7:1000 while the World Health Organisation recommendation is 1:1000. But the move had not gone down well with allopathic doctors with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) spearheading the protests against it. “It is aimed at bringing in doctors involved in alternative medical practices into modern medicine sector through the backdoor and will help promote quackery,” IMA Secretary General Dr RN Tandon had opined. Now, while clearing amendments, the Cabinet left it to the state governments to take necessary steps for promoting primary healthcare in rural areas. The Cabinet decision is seen as a major victory for the IMA. Amendments mooting tougher punitive actions against unqualified medical practitioners or quacks have also been approved as the government remains concerned about the quality of healthcare in the country. The punishment for any unauthorised practice of medicine has been upgraded by including a provision for the imprisonment of up to one year along with a fine extending up to Rs.5 lakh. The Cabinet also made the final medical graduation exam a common one across the country, to be called the National Exit Test (NEXT). Instead of holding a separate licentiate exam after the MBBS final, the Cabinet combined the two into NEXT. Moreover, the nominees of States and Union Territories have been increased to six members from three earlier to increase their representation in the proposed commission. The NMC will now include 25 members of which at least 21 will be doctors.

[Close]