State Minister of Indigenous Medicine Sisira Jayakodi stated that necessary steps have been taken to promote the indigenous medicine sector as an industry with commercial value that can generate foreign exchange.

State Minister Sisira Jayakodi expressed these views while joining the press conference held at the Presidential Media Centre today (15) under the theme “Collective path to a stable country”.

The State Minister also pointed out that many new trends have been made in the indigenous medicine system and Ayurvedic system in order to build a healthy population in the country as well as to solve the problems that have arisen in the health sector.

The state minister who further commented said:

This period of time can be described as an era of revival in the field of indigenous medicine. With the guidance of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, we have done extensive work in the past.

Indigenous medical service in our country has existed as a quality medical service for a long time. Beyond that, the Ministry of Indigenous Medicine and the Department of Ayurveda have now started the program to develop the indigenous medicine sector as an industry that can generate foreign exchange with commercial value.

In particular, an indigenous medical education and trade international exhibition and conference has been planned to be held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo on the 8th, 9th and 10th of September.

Representatives from various countries will be participating in this exhibition. It is expected to find out the necessary market for the export of Ayurvedic products in our country and have a deep discussion about it.

Also, with the aim of increasing the health status of children through mindfulness, the Ayurveda Department launched a school-cantered program today. There are nearly 2500 doctors in the field of community medicine under the Department of Ayurveda in Sri Lanka. This program has been implemented with their contribution.

We have also submitted to the Parliament the work necessary to amend the Ayurveda Act established in 1961. The Supreme Court has also given guidelines in this regard. We hope to make the necessary amendments in the Ayurveda Act, subject to the Supreme Court’s orders.

Supreme Court has approved the clauses regarding the cultivation of medicinal plants necessary for the promotion of the following export sector in the county and the generation of foreign exchange. Also, in order to achieve high efficiency in the field of Ayurveda, we have proposed many changes in its organizational structure as amendments. It is expected to get the approval of the Parliament in the future.

Also, there are more than 25,000 registered traditional healers in our country and there are many unregistered ones too. The Ministry recently started a village-to-village program to resolve the issues regarding the registration of traditional healers.

Accordingly, a program has been started for traditional healers over 70 years of age to register without an examination and arrangements have been made to conduct an oral test for unregistered traditional healers over 45 years of age.

This facility was not available before. As many doctors who traditionally bring knowledge had problems with a written exam, we have provided the necessary facilities to check their qualifications through an oral exam and get the relevant registration.

As the State Ministry of Indigenous Medicine, we are trying to build a healthy population as well as to strengthen the indigenous medical system and Ayurvedic medicine as a solution to the problems that have arisen in the health sector.

Sri Lanka Ayurveda Corporation is an organization that has faced problems for a long time. By managing that situation very well, we have been able to bring it to a profitable state and a very good economic situation. Especially the Ayurveda Corporation has now entered the export sector.

Also, targeting the tourism sector, a new program is underway to provide the contribution of the indigenous medical system to tourist hotels as a treatment method that goes beyond traditional methods. The program has already started producing well-trained certified therapists

There is potential to promote the indigenous medicine as a sector that can generate incredible foreign exchange. Today there is a very high demand for herbal products all over the world. Also, the cosmetics industry is a place where billions roam today. Also, indigenous medicine has a special place in the field of tourism.

There is a high demand for herbal medicines in the world for various diseases. Along with all this, we have a knowledge system that has been nurtured with our culture for a long time. Along with that knowledge, there are Ayurvedic methods confirmed on the basis of new research. We believe that the local medical field will be able to build our country by combining all these.

President’s Media Division (PMD)

2023-08-15