The role of Ayurveda, Yoga and other systems of traditional medicine in the fight against COVID-19 was discussed by experts, healthcare representatives of CICA Member States at an online webinar on 8 February 2022. The event was organized by the Republic of India within the framework of CICA and attended by around 50 experts in the field of traditional medicine from India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey and Thailand.
At the webinar, the Republic of India presented in detail the role of the AYUSH system in public health, introducing such systems as Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Naturopathy and Homeopathy. It was noted that the Government of India had integrated Ayurveda, Yoga and other elements of wellness in its public health system.
According to Special Secretary of the Ministry of AYUSH Mr. Shri P. K. Pathak, in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, AYUSH systems played an important role in the mitigation and treatment of COVID-19 given that Ayurveda and Siddha products had demonstrated their efficacy in the management of disease. Ayurveda medicines were integrated in the National Protocol of India for COVID-19 management. In addition, the role of traditional medicine in achieving health-related Sustainable Development Goals was also highlighted.
In her speech, Deputy Executive Director of the CICA Secretariat Ms. Chi Fang noted that the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic showed the urgent need to ensure coordinated efforts at the regional and global level to contain the spread of coronovirus infection, as well as the need for an integrated approach to ensuring public health and well-being. In 2021, the updated CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures included a new priority area “Epidemiological Safety, Public Health and Pharmaceuticals”, which foresees interaction of the Member States in countering new challenges and threats of an epidemiological character.
The participants of the event exchanged experience on current activities in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 and potential cooperation in the field of Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine, discussed ways and opportunities for the development of traditional medicine of CICA Member States.
