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Sashi, a housewife from New Delhi, pours an “immunity-boosting” powder into a pitcher of water for the whole family every morning. Trust, like many Indians, to the virtues of ancient Ayurvedic medicine against the pandemic.
Traditional Ayurvedic medicine is all the rage in India, a country with more than eight million cases of infection and more than 120,000 deaths for a population of 1.3 billion.
A boom that benefits modern Indian companies that sell traditional products such as well-packaged turmeric-based golden milk or holy basil oil. This market represents $ 10 billion, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Sashi, 50, explains that she saw an advertisement on television promoting a herbal tea “that can protect my family from the coronavirus”, produced by Baba Ramdev, a yogi turned tycoon with his Patanjali brand.
“I thought that since it was on television, it had to be good,” he adds.
Ayurvedic medicine specialist Dr. Bhaswati Bhattacharya believes this interest is due to mistrust of modern medicine and also to the fact that there is still no coronavirus vaccine.
“Ayurveda was put in writing 5,000 years ago and has certainly been used for twice as long,” he told AFP. This medicine “has survived the plague, smallpox and pandemics and that’s why people say,” Let’s see if it works. “
With the pandemic, concern about India’s fragile health system has also increased. Numerous experts estimate coronavirus cases and deaths far exceed official figures, due to a lack of evidence, and many go unreported.
– Yoga, Ayurveda and Unani –
Interest in Ayurveda – Sanskrit for “life science” – and other holistic medicines is supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party.
In fact, in 2014 he created a ministry of traditional medicines, grouped under the acronym AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and homeopathy).
In January this ministry recommended them against coronavirus. Recently, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan released a “national clinical management protocol” for covid-19 based on Ayurveda and yoga for moderate and asymptomatic cases.
In pharmacies, Ayurvedic products compete on an equal footing with conventional medicines.
Milk producer Mother Dairy highlights the “phenomenal” success of its new “haldi” (turmeric) milk for babies. “The demand is very, very high, so we are increasing production and distribution,” a manager, Sanjay Sharma, told AFP.
“Products that promote health and immunity are a new phenomenon,” he adds. “This is an opportunity … to offer preventative care to consumers at a very affordable price.”
Philipe Haydon, CEO of Himalaya Drug Company, the Indian pioneer of herbal medicines and creams, estimates that the demand for products that support immunity and well-being has increased tenfold since the start of the pandemic.
Taking advantage of the rise of alternative treatments, some say they have found a way to “cure” the disease of covid-19.
Although there is no scientific evidence, several BJP politicians have advocated the use of cow urine or dung.
In June, the AYUSH ministry asked Baba Ramdev to stop selling his plant-based Coronil as a coronavirus treatment.
The Indian Medical Association – the main organization representing Indian doctors – asked Minister Vardhan, who is a doctor, for proof of the effectiveness of Ayurveda and yoga against this disease.
“If they are good for your health, you can use them. But none of them provide particular protection against covid-19,” Anand Krishnan, a specialist public health professor at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) told AFP. New York. Delhi. “The important thing is to observe the social distancing measures, wear a mask and wash your hands”.
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