Regional Research Institute of Unani Medicine in Srinagar to be developed as Centre of Excellence: Sarbananda Sonowal

The Union Minister of AYUSH and Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, inaugurated the international conference on “Diet and Nutrition in Unani Medicine for Good Health and Well-Being” in Srinagar yesterday. On the occasion, the minister announced that the Regional Research Institute of Unani Medicine will be developed as a Centre of Excellence (CoE).

Speaking at the occasion, Sonowal said that the importance of balanced and nutritious diet is the key to a healthy life and prevention as well as treatment of disease. Unani physicians recommend treatment by suitable modifications in diet before treatment with drugs. He said that in this regard, the ministry wants to upgrade the Regional Research Institute of Unani Medicine into an AYUSH Centre of Excellence in Ilaj bi’l-Tadbir (regimental therapy).

The minister informed that the World Health Organization (WHO) and the ministry of AYUSH have published benchmarks for the training of Unani medicine, and this document will address the aspects like training requirements for good-quality Unani medicine services.

The inaugural session of the conference witnessed the release of conference souvenir and eight books published by the CCRUM, release of two Unani e-books developed by the National Institute of Indian Medical Heritage functioning under CCRAS at Hyderabad, distribution of YCB certificates to felicitate yoga instructors, exchange of Yoga MoU and live yoga performance, release of CCRUM apps and presentation of NABH Accreditation Certificate to RRIUM Srinagar. With the launch of mobile apps on single Unani drugs, Unani treatment guidelines, and know your temperament application, the union minister appreciated all stakeholders as it was the first-of-its-kind initiative of CCRUM, ministry of AYUSH, in the field of Unani medicine.

Further, in his address, Dr Munjpara Mahendrabhai, MoS, AYUSH, said that Unani medicine provides detailed guidelines for healthy food habits to maintain health and prevent diseases. He lauded the role of AYUSH system in immunity enhancement through drugs and medicinal foods and fighting against COVID-19. He also appreciated the contributions of CCRUM in research and development in Unani medicine.

The titles of the CCRUM books released are ‘Orientation Guidelines for Community Health Officers (Under Unani Stream)’, ‘Antiarthritic Plants in Unani Medicine’, ‘Hepatoprotective Plants in Unani Medicine’, ‘Glimpses of Activities and Achievements of Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine’, ‘Advanced Analytical Methods for Quality Control of Unani Drugs – Araqiyat (Distillates)’, ‘Riyad al-Adwiya (Urdu translation)’ ‘Adwiya Kabidiyya: Qadeem-o-Jadeed Tahqiqat ki Raushni mein’ and ‘National Formulary of Unani Medicine, Vol. IV, 2nd Edition’.

Pramod Kumar Pathak, Special Secretary, Ministry of Ayush; Vivek Bhardwaj, Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, J&K; Vaidya Jayant Deopujari, Chairman, National Commission for India System of Medicine; Professor Talat Ahmad, Vice Chancellor, University of Kashmir; Professor Akbar Masood, Vice Chancellor, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University; Professor Asim Ali Khan, Director General, Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) and Dr M A Qasmi, Adviser (Unani), Ministry of AYUSH, also graced the conference organised by the CCRUM, Ministry of Ayush, as part of Unani Day 2022 celebrations on 10th and 11th March, 2022, in hybrid mode.