NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY AND THE SCOPE OF AYURVEDA IN NHP

NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY AND THE SCOPE OF AYURVEDA IN NHP

• The National Health Policy (NHP) is a government framework that outlines the goals, principles, and strategies for the development of the health sector in India.

• The latest version, NHP 2017, aims to achieve the highest possible level of health and well-being through preventive and promotive healthcare orientation in all developmental policies.

• It recognizes the importance of traditional systems of medicine, particularly Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH), and integrates them into the mainstream healthcare system.

OBJECTIVES OF NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY 2017

• To provide universal access to good quality healthcare services without financial hardship.

• To strengthen the health system for delivery of comprehensive primary healthcare services.

• To reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare.

• To promote healthy lifestyles and prevention of diseases.

• To improve the availability of skilled human resources in health.

• To promote AYUSH systems of medicine for preventive and promotive health.

KEY FEATURES OF NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY 2017

• Emphasis on comprehensive primary health care including non-communicable diseases.

• Establishment of Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) for delivering preventive, promotive, curative, and rehabilitative services.

• Mainstreaming of AYUSH into the public health system.

• Digital health records and adoption of e-health.

• Focus on quality of care through standard treatment guidelines and accreditation.

• Public-private partnerships (PPPs) to improve accessibility and affordability.

• Increase in government expenditure on health from 1.15% to 2.5% of GDP.

• Promotion of public health education and behaviour change communication (BCC).

SCOPE OF AYURVEDA IN NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY

• Ayurveda is emphasized as a preventive, promotive, and curative system of medicine.

• AYUSH is integrated through co-location in public health facilities like PHCs, CHCs, and District Hospitals.

• Ayurvedic lifestyle practices (Dincharya, Ritucharya, Sadvritta) are encouraged to prevent lifestyle disorders.

• Swasthavritta, the science of health preservation in Ayurveda, aligns with the preventive health approach of NHP.

• Encouragement of evidence-based research in Ayurveda to validate and standardize its practices.

• Training and deployment of AYUSH practitioners in underserved areas.

• Promotion of Ayurveda-based interventions in national programs like NPCDCS (for NCDs), school health, geriatric care, and maternal-child health.

• Integration of Ayurveda herbs and formulations in the essential drugs list in public health institutions.

RELEVANT SANSKRIT QUOTES FROM CLASSICAL TEXTS

स्वस्थस्य स्वास्थ्य रक्षणं आतुरस्य विकार प्रशमनं च ।
– चरकसंहिता, सूत्रस्थान 30/26
(The goal of Ayurveda is maintenance of health in the healthy and treatment of disease in the ill.)

नित्यं हिताहितं चात्र विचार्यं आरोग्यमिच्छता ।
– सुश्रुतसंहिता, सूत्रस्थान 15/48
(One who desires health should always reflect upon what is wholesome and unwholesome.)

दोषा दोषाः समं देहे तिष्ठन्ति स्वस्थलक्षणम्।
– अष्टाङ्गहृदयम् सूत्रस्थान 1/20
(Balanced doshas in the body denote a state of health.)

नात्मप्रीत्यै चिकित्सेत भिषक् प्राज्ञो न जातुचित् ।
आतुराणामिव प्रीत्यै सर्वभूतहिते रतः ॥
– चरकसंहिता, सूत्रस्थान 1/35
(A wise physician treats not for his own pleasure but for the benefit of the suffering and for the good of all living beings.)

MODERN COMMUNITY MEDICINE CORRELATION

• Health Promotion and disease prevention are the pillars of modern public health which parallel Swasthavritta.

• NHP aims to reduce the burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases through lifestyle interventions.

• Concepts like Health Education, IEC (Information, Education, and Communication), BCC (Behaviour Change Communication), and primary prevention strategies are common to both Ayurveda and Community Medicine.

• The Ecological model of health, Primordial Prevention, and Social Determinants of Health discussed in modern textbooks align with Ayurvedic views of Desha (geography), Kala (season/time), and Ahara-Vihara (diet and lifestyle).

• Programs like Ayushman Bharat under NHP include HWCs that integrate AYUSH for delivering comprehensive primary care.

• School Health Programs include Yoga and Ayurveda-based lifestyle education.

• Increasing trends in integration of Ayurveda in palliative care, geriatric health, maternal-child nutrition, and mental health through holistic approaches.