SC Upheld AYUSH Ministry's Advisory, Allowed Homoeopathy as Add on to Covid-19 Care: Rijiju

The Supreme Court has upheld the AYUSH Ministry's advisory and permitted use of homoeopathy medicine as add on to standard care in COVID-19 treatment, said Kiren Rijiju, who holds the additional charge of the ministry, in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The clarification was in reply to a question asked by ET Mohammed Basheer, MP, the AYUSH Ministry said in a statement.

The minister said while homoeopathy treatment is not to be given in standalone mode for COVID-19 treatment, the ministry through an advisory in March last year and the 'Guidelines for AYUSH practitioners for COVID-19' allowed AYUSH interventions, including homoeopathy, as add on to standard care. He also informed the House that the ministry has taken many steps with the help of AYUSH systems of medicine for COVID-19 related treatment, and cited its advisory on 29 January last year on "how to protect oneself from COVID and how to stay healthy", according to the statement.

Rijiju also cited a letter dated March 6, 2020, by the ministry to all chief secretaries of states and Union Territories conveying specific suggestions on augmentation of general immunity of people and about possible AYUSH interventions. The self-care guidelines issued by the Ministry on March 31, 2020, for preventive health measures and enhancing immunity with special reference to respiratory health was also mentioned by the minister.

The reply also brought out some other information of public interest in the matter of management of Guidelines for Registered Practitioners of respective system of AYUSH, made available in public domain for the benefit of registered AYUSH practitioners including Homoeopathy to help in the management of COVID 19 pandemic uniformly, also found a mention, the statement said. Further, the ministry, through various research organizations and National Institutes under Ministry of AYUSH, has conducted about 105 interdisciplinary clinical studies, including 20 of Homoeopathy, at 136 centres in the country. The clinical research studies are conducted on AYUSH interventions as prophylactic interventions in high-risk population targeting approximately 5 lakh population and as an add-on to standard care to COVID-19 management, the statement said.

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