Team Herald
PANJIM: Union Minister for AYUSH Shripad Naik has announced that the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across the country, including Goa will now have an AYUSH doctor besides the allopathic practitioner.
Speaking to media persons, Naik said that the Central government would create infrastructure for alternate medicine across the country so that the benefits of it goes to the doorsteps of the people.
Naik said that the Narendra Modi-led government has emphasised on creating various facilities related to AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) in every district in the country.
As a first step, he said that all the PHCs across the country will now have an AYUSH doctor besides the allopathic practitioner. He said that currently, the PHCs have only doctors from Allopathy stream but now there will be one doctor either from Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha or Homeopathy.
Naik who got elected for the fifth time in a row from North Goa Parliamentary constituency was allotted the AYUSH ministry during the first tenure of Narendra Modi-led government, which he continues in the second inning of Modi.
He said that his ministry would set up 2,500 AYUSH wellness centres across the country in the first phase under AYUSHMAN Bharat scheme, which was launched by Modi during his last tenure providing health insurance to various sectors.
He said that under the scheme, there is allocation of 1.12 lakh Wellness Centres across the country, of which, the first phase will have 2,500 centres. Naik said that his ministry is also in the process of setting up AYUSH hospitals in 150 districts across the country for which the Central government would provide funds.
“We have to create AYUSH infrastructure so that the people know about its benefits. We can’t convince people to go for these medicines till we introduce them at their doorsteps,” he said.
