Coming Soon: Ayush Vertical Under DGHS for Proper Use of Yoga, Homeopathy, Ayurveda in Public Health

The central government is planning to create a separate vertical for Ayush medicines and therapies under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Once approved, it will create a post of an additional director general of health services, equal to that of an additional secretary.

The existing office of the DGHS, which is a wing under the ministry of health and family welfare, is headed by Dr Atul Goel as director general of health services.

“After inter-ministerial consultation, the proposal has been sent to the ministry of health for final concurrence,” a senior government official told News18. “A draft cabinet note for the creation of AYUSH vertical under the DGHS was sent to the health ministry in July and comments on it are expected soon.”

The DGHS is known as a repository of technical knowledge concerning public health, medical education and healthcare. It will have an attached office with the ministry of AYUSH – an acronym for ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha, sowarigpa and homoeopathy – along with subordinate offices spread across India.

The department, at present, coordinates with the health directorates of all states and union territories for the implementation of different national health programmes through its regional offices of health and family welfare.

The new department is expected to act as an advisory for all states and union territories for the implementation of similar programmes for Ayush services. It will also act as a repository of technical knowledge of public health, medical education, healthcare education, research and to oversee the functioning of AYUSH hospitals, dispensaries and their management. It will also plan a way for proper utilisation of yoga in public health.

How will the new vertical, DGHS (Ayush), work?

So far, the AYUSH ministry is guided by research councils and national-level institutes for technical inputs used in the formulation and implementation of policies. These councils and institutes, in turn, conduct research in the respective AYUSH systems.

The department will coordinate and oversee the field work and other activities with an objective of building “effective evidence-based policy decisions in the AYUSH sector”, a government official was quoted as saying.

The department will help in the planning and evaluation exercises performed by AYUSH ministry. Also, it will help in facilitating identification of innovative practices in order to bring reforms and breakthrough ideas in the sector.

Moreover, the department is expected to design strategies for collection of field specific data, related to public health along with rich data on causative factors of various disease conditions.

The current DGHS has already integrated the AYUSH system with the national programme for prevention and control of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and stroke (NPCDCS) in six districts, by combining contemporary medicine and traditional health systems.

A separate department, however, is expected to bring seamless integration of traditional and ancient medicines as well as therapies in public health areas, a source said, adding that “it will also help in creating a stronger coordination in research and development activities”.

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