A trend analysis of AYUSH adoption in India during Covid-19 lockdown.
Date : 18/05/2024
COVID-19 entered the radar of the country sometime around mid-march when flights were getting cancelled and the Prime Minister finally announced lockdown on March 22nd. Till then it was just global news. Covid started arriving even before that in trickle. Post March 22nd lockdown the reality set in dramatically. The general public are now faced with an unknown enemy which has been quite lethal at global level. General public realized that there is no vaccine, and only symptoms and co morbidities are getting treated. The death rates in other countries were quite alarming. The covid warriors started putting a valiant fight.
India did launch a massive drive to control the spread and increase the spread. Simultaneously, the uncertainty about the allopath drugs kicked off interest in ayush based and natural remedies. There were many attempts to promote Ayurveda and other traditional medicines to manage corona. People also started looking for remedies on their own. They started searching for branded remedies and generic solutions like spices usually recommended for life-style diseases, and there was sudden interest even on yoga and breathing techniques.
This study seeks to capture this national search for remedies. It tries to address this question of: did corona kindle interest in Ayush and natural remedies? We did a google analytics and searched for key variables like Homeopathy, Kadha, Giloy, Siddha, Arsenicum Album, Dabur, and Patanjali products to capture the possible rising interest of general people in this secondary sector.
The Compelling Proposition
The thrust of care and approach of ayush comprised of:
●Preventive and prophylactic: These class of treatment include immunity building, keeping the nasal passages and lungs safe, and controlling the comorbidities.
●Symptom management of COVID-19 and co-morbidities: Using Ayurvedic tablets like AYUSH-64, Homeopathic medicines like Arsenicum album 30, etc. There were protocals issued by the Ministry of Ayush and many others but targeting immunity building and managing co-morbidities.
●Protecting Corona Warriors: Some states also supplied Ayush remedies to professionals and staff responsible for corona related work and treating patients. The warriors included health workers, police, administration, etc. Tamil Nadu, for example, advocated a decoction called Kaha Sura Kashayam.
The Ministry of Ayush immediately set up a task Force with specialists from multiple discipline with mandate to come with protocol for prevention and treatment. This Task Force came with protocols for preventive and curative care varying it according to the symptoms.
The Ministry of Ayush made recommendations in the nature of several self-care and home remedies guidelines for preventive health measures which helps in boosting immunity with reference to respiratory health like Nasal Application. Oil Pulling Therapy, the practice of Pranayama. The Ministry of Ayush recommended many Ayurvedic measures like drinking Kadha, Giloy Ghan Vati, using spices like Haldi, Jeera, and Lahsun, steam inhalation with Pudina, etc. Different regions of our country are using their own regional remedies to fight this pandemic. Ayush is also training doctors for proper management of the current scenario with the latest information and techniques.
Policy Thrust by the Prime Minister
The strongest pitch for Ayush came from Prime Minister himself. The PM while announcing the lockdown period starting from 24th March 2020, included Ahyush as one of the missions for managing covid response. He also advised people to follow the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Ayush. A task force was formed by the Ministry on his advice to validate the traditional medicine formulas through research institutions like ICMR. During his speech on 14th April 2020 Narendra Modi advised the citizen to drink hot water and Kadha, as prescribed by the Ministry of Ayush, and to follow the protocols of the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy to fight Covid-19. He also said, “It is important to create awareness on India’s traditional medicines and medical practices all over the world”. He asked all the people working in the field of Telemedicine to generate awareness about the importance of a high immunity against COVID-19 through natural methods.
The Study Results and Discussion
A study was done to understand the influence of corona in inducing general public to search for natural remedies and Ayush. The study covered the past 90 days and post 90 days of first lockdown lock-down. At the out, the study showed a rising interest of people in a secondary field of medical science i.e. Ayurveda and Homeopathy. The sudden increase in volatility was also helped by the advocacy by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he ever he spoke on these.
The trend of people’s interest in Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Giloy, and Kadha is shown in the graph below. A positive increase in the trend of interest on Kadha prescribed by the Ministry of Ayush can be seen. Kadha is a natural immunity booster which is taken when you are suffering from a prolonged infection. Around mid-April, interest in Homeopathy overtook Ayurveda, as a Homeopathic medicine Arsenicum Album prescribed by the government became popular. Its interest was heavily seen in the states of Maharashtra and West Bengal.
The trend analysis of Ayurveda (Blue), Homeopathy (Red), Giloy (Yellow) and Kadha (Green)
[Graph 1: Past 90 days of Lockdown (25/12/2019- 23/3/2020)]
[Graph 2: Post 90 days of Lockdown (24/3/2020- 21/6/2020)]
Giloy is popular mostly in the regions of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Assam, whereas Kadha is being consumed more in Kerala. People from the Northern parts of India and some parts of South India showed strong interest in Ayurveda. Giloy is suggested by experts for treating heart-related conditions and Diabetes even in normal times.
Siddha medicine system is well renowned in Southern parts of India, especially in Tamil Nadu and even the Government supports it strongly. In the Siddha system, the use of metals, minerals, and chemical products is predominant and diseases are caused due to imbalance of vatha, pitha, and kapha.
The study also covered many plants and herbs which are used as an immunity booster like Turmeric and Garlic. One can observe increasing and volatile trend in these commodities.
The trend analysis of Siddha (Blue), Turmeric (Red) and Garlic (Yellow) is shown below:
[Graph 3: Past 90 days of Lockdown (25/12/2019- 23/3/2020)] [Graph 4: Post 90 days of Lockdown (24/3/2020- 21/6/2020)]
The map below gives the regional interests of various streams. Siddha is extensively used in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. Garlic is one of the most popular medicinal ingredients, taken almost all over India. It is also prescribed by the Ministry of Ayush. It is immensely beneficial for regulating blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Turmeric is mostly popular in North-Easter parts, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Companies like Dabur and Patanjali observed a huge spike during the month of May followed by a continuously increasing demand. , especially after The market is booming for immunity boosting products like Honey, Chyawanprash, Giloy tablets, Giloy Churna, Ashwagandha, etc. Companies like Emami and Himalaya are also trying to build up their portfolio and launch immunity kits.
Patanjali products are being viewed all across the country. The major application can be seen in the Northern states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, and Rajasthan. Dabur products are seen popular in Karnataka, Jharkhand, Assam, and West Bengal. A demographic distribution of usage of Ayurveda (Blue), Patanjali Products (Red) and Dabur Products (Yellow) from 24th March, 2020 to 21st June, 2020 (90 days) is shown below:
Conclusion
In the study of interest on different types of alternate medicines like Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Siddha etc., we can see a rising trend in the search among people. The analysis of past 90 days of lockdown and post 90 days of lockdown for Ayurveda shows an increase in the mean value from 0.0296667 to 0.0917778 and also an increase in the standard deviation from 0.0101062 to 0.1006783 which implies the interest of people in the alternative field of medicine increased appreciably during the lockdown. We find an increasing trend as well as volatility in the search for natural remedies. It augurs well as once people get exposed to these remedies, they are most likely to continue to explore these for other diseases as well in normal times. It is also spreading wide. With the direction of Ayush to use different types of Ayurvedic and Homeopathic remedies for immunity buildup, the interest of people in their regional medical system like Siddha is also increasing. Thus, there was a spike in the interest of people in AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy).
Excerpts taken from:
●Nhp.gov.in. 2020. AYUSH | National Health Portal of India. [online] Available at: <https://www.nhp.gov.in/ayush_ms> [Retrieved 30 July 2020].
●Thacker, T. (2020). PM Narendra Modi prescribes Ayush's 'traditional ways'. Available at: <https://m.economictimes.com/industry/healthcare/biotech/healthcare/pm-narendra-modi-prescribes-ayushs-traditional-ways/articleshow/75150604.cms> [Retrieved 30 July 2020].
●Delhi, I., 2020. Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi. [online] Icmr.gov.in. Available at: <https://www.icmr.gov.in/> [Retrieved 30 July 2020].
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