A dedicated community support helpline has been operationalised by the Union Ministry of Ayush to provide AYUSH-based approaches and solutions for the challenges raised by Covid-19. The toll-free number is 14443. The helpline is operational pan-India from 6 am to 12 midnight-all seven days of a week.

Through the helpline 14443, experts from different streams of Ayush, namely Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani & Siddha would be available to address queries of the general masses. These experts would not only be providing counselling and feasible remedies to the patients but would also guide them about the availability of nearby Ayush facilities.

The experts would also be suggesting post COVID-19 rehabilitation and management approaches to the patients. The helpline is IVR (Interactive Voice Response) equipped and currently available in Hindi and English languages. Other languages will be added in due course of time. The helpline will initially take 100 calls simultaneously and the capacity would be increased in future, as per requirements. Through the helpline, the Ministry of Ayush aims to contribute to the community-wide effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. The effort is supported by the NGO Project StepOne.

Notably, the AYUSH systems are among the oldest living medical systems used for health and wellbeing and are formally recognised in the country. The use of these systems has increased during the current pandemic due to their unique approaches for strengthening host defence. These are found useful as effective, safer, conveniently accessible, and affordable prophylaxis in the management of COVID-19. In addition, the therapeutic potentials have also been explored and two potential Polyherbal formulations namely AYUSH-64, an Ayurvedic formulation developed by CCRAS and KabasuraKudineer of Siddha system has been found effective in the management of mild to moderate Covid-19 conditions. The Ministry of AYUSH is promoting these medicines extensively for the benefit of common people.

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MV/SK