To save its ancient old local health traditions and ethno medical practices followed in the country for years from extinction, India has started documenting these age-old repositories to conserve them for future generations. So far over 25 thousand local medical practices have been documented and the process is going on, said Union Ayush Secretary Rajesh Kotecha.
The ethno-medicine is one of the form of healing diseases by using medicinally valued plants and is being practiced from ancient times.
Kotecha said the traditional healers are the repositories of centuries of wisdom and knowledge of health practices, transmitted through an incredibly effective system of oral transmission inherited through family lineage, at times also acquired under the Guru Shishya Parampara or through observation and experience.
The official said in the process (during documentation of ethno-medical practices), it will be ensured that rights of the traditional healers are protected. “We are also firming up plans to ensure that they are not exploited and cheated by the commercial pharma firms as they share their traditional knowledge outside their lineage.”
Also, the official said in order to give formal recognition to traditional healers in the country, the Quality Council of India (QCI) has launched national voluntary certification scheme to certify their knowledge and skills and bring them in the mainstream.
This is ongoing process, KG Dhiman, DG of the Delhi-based Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) said, adding that a brainstorming session was held a few months ago with scientists and stakeholders on the issue.
Dhiman said the CCRAS, along with other stakeholders, agreed that a combined mainstreaming of the folklore knowledge is needed to protect our traditions.
He was sharing his views on the sidelines of the second day of the 7th International Congress of the Society for Ethnopharmacology (SFEC 2020) being held at Jamia Hamdard here where 60 renowned speakers and about 1,700 delegates from 40 countries, including India, are deliberating on crucial issues related to ethnomedicine, ethnopharmocology, medicinal plants research and the regulatory aspects.
Many traditional healers from Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are also participating at the three-day event.
KK Sharma from AIMIL Pharma, which is engaged in manufacturing herbal-based drugs like BGR-34 (anti-diabetic formulation based on six herbs) and NEERI-KFT (for managing kidney ailments), welcomed the move to bring the traditional healers in the mainstream, noting that traditional knowledge can be promoted by integrating with scientific method.
Dr Ibrahim Jantan, Professor of Medicinal and Natural Products Chemistry at Taylor’s University, Malaysia, echoed similar views stating that while his country is yet to officially recognise AYUSH as mainstream medicine, many traditional healers have preserved and promoted indigenous herbal medicines for curing various serious ailments.
According to an estimate, there are around 1 million traditional healers in the country but many work in the far flung, inaccessible areas.
In the absence of the public health system, a large part of India, especially rural and tribal areas, is mostly serviced by these healers who rely on the tradition of local health practices to cure serious diseases.
There are an estimated 1 million traditional healers in the country and yet while they exist in practice, there is no formal recognition for such healers. A large part of India, especially rural and tribal areas, is mostly serviced by traditional healers who rely on the tradition of local health practices for providing healthcare services mostly for the inaccessible far flung areas.
In 2018, the Government had conferred Padma awards on 3 such traditional healers from Kerala, Karnataka and Tibet thus bestowing an unprecedented honour to this segment of community healthcare workers.
