Ayush Ministry launches nationwide distribution campaign of herbal medicines

Ministry of Ayush on Friday announced that it is launching a massive nationwide campaign to distribute its polyherbal ayurvedic drugs AYUSH 64 and Sidha drug Kabasura Kudineer for the benefit of COVID-19 patients that have not been hospitalised. This announcement comes at a time when the nation is dealing with a massive surge in COVID-19 cases that has pushed the healthcare infrastructure of the country to its limit.

The Ministry has stated that the efficacy of these drugs has been proven through robust multi-centre clinical trials. "The multi-stakeholder campaign being launched by Shri Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State (independent charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports and Minister of Ayush (additional charge) will ensure that medicines reach the needy in a transparent and efficient manner," read a Ministry of Ayush press release. The Ministry's main collaborator in running this campaign is Sewa Bharati.

"A comprehensive strategy of distribution has been chalked out and the role out will unfold in a phased manner, utilising the wide network of various institutions working under the aegis of the ministry and this will be supported by the countrywide network of Sewa Bharati," read the release.

The Ministry of Ayush has been working with the Health Ministry and has taken several initiatives toward control and mitigation of COVID-19. The latest initiative of the Ministry is to launch a nationwide campaign for the distribution of AYUSH-64 and Kabasura Kudineer.

Multiple studies have been conducted on AYUSH-64, an Ayurvedic formulation developed by the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), and Kabasura Kudineer, a classical Siddha formulation, according to the Ayush Ministry.

The Ayush Ministry in a collaboration with CSIR had recently completed a multi-centre clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of AYUSH 64 in the management of mild to moderate COVID-19 patients. The Kabasura Kudineer was also subjected to clinical trials by Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS) under the Ministry of Ayush.

"AYUSH-64 is recommended in National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga which is vetted by National Task Force on COVID Management of ICMR and Guidelines for Ayurveda Practitioners for COVID-19 Patients in Home Isolation. Kabasura Kudineer is included in Guidelines for Siddha Practitioners for COVID 19, Ministry of Ayush Govt. of India," noted the release.

The Ayush Ministry has also established an Interdisciplinary Committee for Inclusion of Ayurveda and Yoga Interventions in the 'National Clinical Management Protocol: COVID-19', which was chaired by Dr VM Katoch, former Director-General ICMR.

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