ගරු සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යතුමගේ පණිවුඩය

The field of indigenous medicine is currently moving forward with a new awakening. It is an achievement in this field to be able to take a number of important policy decisions that lead to the development of the field.

The drafting of the local medical policy, which was an urgent need for the local medical sector, has been done now and it is to be submitted for the approval of the Cabinet after considering the public opinion. Also, considering it as a need of the hour, efforts are being made to bring amendments to the Ayurveda Act No. 31 of 1961.

Through the introduction of the "Vedavaru" mobile phone application, it was also possible to take local medicine to the international level. Also, efforts are being made to enter into Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with foreign countries for the advancement and development of the sector. Enabled the introduction of National Competency Standards and Competency Based Syllabus for National Vocational Qualification Level (NVQ-04) to produce professional Ayurvedic Massage Practitioners with world recognized professional education.

Facilitation has been provided for registration of Ayurvedic Medical Council to the traditional doctors with special skills and a new system has been developed to solve the problems encountered during the registration of those doctors and the previous hurdles have been systematically removed. Also, 124 traditional, Siddha, Unani and graduate Ayurvedic doctors who have done great work for the local medical field were presented with the President's Award and their services were appreciated.

More attention is now being given to programs aimed at foreign markets to provide local medical services and products and thereby earn foreign exchange for the country. The Sri Lanka Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Corporation is currently working to expand its products targeting the export market. It has also embarked on a program to generate employment and earn foreign exchange by setting up new treatment units in tourist hotels for graduate Ayurvedic doctors.

Under Section 30(1) of the Homeopathy Act No. 10 of 2016, arrangements could be made for the registration of homeopathic doctors and registration of the Homeopathic Medical Council has been granted to qualified doctors who have passed the relevant examination.

In order to gradually reduce the foreign exchange spent on the importation of local medicines, to make the raw materials needed for the production of local medicines available in the country, the program of growing and developing herbal plants has been initiated. Also, efforts have been made to reactivate the Ayurvedic Conservation Councils, to develop research areas in the field of local medicine, and to make the services provided by the hospital system more efficient.

With the help of local medical knowledge, it has been possible to carry out a special intervention for the control of non-communicable diseases and a remarkable work has been done for the promotion of mental health, with more emphasis on mental balance and emotional control.

It is my wish to see a cure for the disease with local medicine and knowledge.