Proposals invited to evaluate role of AYUSH interventions in management of COVID-19

The AYUSH ministry on Friday invited short-term research proposals to evaluate role of indigenous alternative medicine system in prevention and clinical management of COVID-19.

Hospitals and institutions involved in the management of coronavirus cases have been invited to participate in this scheme which falls under the extramural (ie.for those from outside the AYUSH Ministry establishment) research category.

"As of now AYUSH systems are not allowed to treat COVID-19 patients and the reason is that there is no evidence to support that AYUSH has a solution. Thus, this is an important step in this direction," a senior official said.

The proposals should be related to evaluating the role and impact of AYUSH interventions/medicines in the prophylaxis and clinical management of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease, the ministry said in a statement.

Project proposals of a maximum of six months duration with Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) clearance will be considered for support up to Rs 10 lakhs to meet the expenditure on engaging AYUSH clinicians, technical manpower, laboratory investigations and related contingencies.

The details including eligibility criteria, mode for submission of application, application form are uploaded on AYUSH ministry's website.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last month called upon AYUSH (Ayurveda,Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homeopathy) practitioners to pitch in and work for scientific evidence-based solutions from the traditional medicine systems to tackle the pandemic.