The NDA Government has placed the draft National Health Policy, 2015 in the public domain for discussion. It is stated that efforts would be made to revitalise the alternate systems of medicine known as Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathic, ‘Ayush’ in short. The step is welcome.
The policy has stated that a ‘phased integration’ of Ayush with the dominant allopathic system of medicine will be undertaken. It is also said that efforts would be directed towards making India the world leader in the discovery of new drugs, based on Ayush systems. This task would require promoting joint research with allopathy. Ayurveda, for example, excels in the treatment of certain diseases like those relating to the stomach; while allopathy excels in treating infectious diseases and surgery. There is a huge area in between, where both systems have contributions to make. There is need for an ambitious programme to undertake joint studies for the treatment of various diseases by both systems so that a new approach can be formulated, that incorporates the best of both systems.
The policy has also committed to standardisation of Ayush practices and medicines. Presently, many patients suffer due to the use of substandard Ayush medicines. The cost of these medicines is often high because certified raw materials are not easily available, especially to small manufacturers. The cost of certification of small batches of raw materials is exorbitant, leading to the use of uncertified inputs of poor quality. The government could provide certified raw materials in small lots to enable small manufacturers to compete. There is also a need to undertake cost effectiveness studies of alternate treatments. For example, certain Ayur-vedic medicines are to be taken with honey. But honey is expensive. So there is a need to study their effectiveness when taken with water.
There is a need to go beyond the ‘health’ systems, however. The target of the government should be to integrate the good practices of Ayush into overall lifestyle management. The basic premises of the Ayush and allopathy are different. Ayush focusses on lifestyles—food, exercise, mental make-up, etc. It believes that health problems arise because of imbalance in lifestyle. The role of medical treatment is limited to providing immediate relief. A person who wakes up late, does no physical exercise, eats heavy food and is always fighting with others, is likely to suffer from blood pressure or other psychosomatic diseases. The Ayush practitioner would have him rise early, take a morning walk, practise yoga and light food. That would be the basic treatment. This approach is codified in the ‘Vata, Pitta, Kapha’ classification of the bodily processes in the Ayurvedic system. For example, if the veins are blocked, the Ayush practitioner would check ‘Vata, Pitta and Kapha’ and try to restore the balance between them. The effort would be to eventually correct the bodily processes that led to the blocking of the veins, instead of merely removing the blockage. Allopathy focusses more on the anatomy. A stent is placed in the veins and the blockage is removed, though it is likely the veins may soon get blocked again.
There is a difference in the underlying purpose of life in the two systems. The objective, according to Ayush, is ‘inner’ peace. The objective of life according to allopathy, on the other hand, is increased consumption. A person drinking expensive wines is considered great even if he is tense and suffering from several diseases. Therefore, the area of joint studies should be limited to the positive contributions of allopathy. How do we then explain the huge improvement in average life expectancy that has come about due to the use of allopathic medicine? There is no doubt that the discovery of penicillin and the use of antibiotics have greatly contributed towards disease control. However, we have simultaneously seen the emergence of new diseases like AIDS, Mad Cow Disease, SARS and Ebola. Therefore, while recognising the seminal contribution of allopathy medicine, there is need for caution in becoming too dependent on allopathy alone. The dimension of physical processes and inner happiness on board must also be considered. The government’s agenda has to be set up against this backdrop. Health must not be looked at as a stand-alone, but as a part of the larger human predicament.
About the writers:
Bharat Jhunjhunwala was a former Professor of Economics at IIM Bengaluru; while Narendra Nath Mehrotra is a scientist with the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow
