Working to introduce integrative medicine in all hospitals: Union Health Minister

Mansukh Mandaviya

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday said the central government is working towards setting up a separate wing for integrative medicine, an approach that combines conventional medicine with complementary treatments, in all the medical colleges and hospitals.

Mandaviya, who delivered a keynote address at International Integrative Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Conference, 2022 organised by Heartfulness, said the government has established 1,50,000 health and wellness centres across platforms that promote meditation, yoga, and all aspects and activities pertaining to integrated health and wellbeing.

"In the coming days, we have started working on having a separate division for integrative medicine in all medical colleges or hospitals, and to have arrangements for research," he said in a tweet.

Integrative medicine is the need of the hour, he stressed in another tweet. Noting that research should not be restricted to government laboratories alone, the union minister said the Centre wants to open research that recognises the spiritual dimension and encourage public private partnership.

According to him, India sent out medicines to as many as 150 countries during the COVID-19 related lockdown without hiking prices that would otherwise be a way of taking advantage of the crisis. ”The world came to rely on India because of helping the mankind in the perilous times," he added.