The Ministry of AYUSH has established a dedicated community support helpline to provide AYUSH-based responses and solutions to the problems posed by COVID-19.
The toll-free helpline number is 14443, the helpline is operational pan-India from 6 am till midnight on all days of the week, the ministry said on Friday.
Experts from various branches of AYUSH, including Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, and Siddha, will be on hand to answer questions from the general public.
According to the ministry, these specialists will not only provide patients with counseling and viable solutions but will also inform them about the availability of nearby AYUSH facilities. Patients will also be given recommendations for post-COVID-19 rehabilitation and management by the experts. The helpline is fitted with IVR (Interactive Voice Response) and is currently available in Hindi and English.
The helpline will initially handle 100 calls at a time, with the capability being expanded if needed in the future. The NGO Project StepOne is supporting the initiative, according to the statement.
The Ministry of AYUSH hopes that the helpline will add to the community-wide initiative to stop COVID-19 from spreading.
In addition, the therapeutic potentials have been explored. Two possible polyherbal formulations have been found to be useful in the management of mild to moderate COVID-19 conditions, namely AYUSH-64, an ayurvedic formulation developed by CCRAS, and KabasuraKudineer of Siddha scheme. It was also reported that the Ministry of AYUSH is heavily promoting these medicines for the good of the general public.
The AYUSH programs are one of the country's oldest living medicine systems for health and well-being, and they are officially recognized. The use of these systems has increased during the current pandemic due to their unique approaches for strengthening host defense.