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Promoting the right Ayurveda 

01 Sep 2021

Sri Lanka’s management of Covid-19 has been questioned on occasions, and sometimes, the issues that entailed Covid-19 management efforts were preventable ones that were worsened due to the lack of vision and action. One such mistake the authorities tried to rectify was the authorities’ ill-advised endorsement of the infamous “Dhammika Peniya”, a local concoction.  In response to a question about endorsing and promoting Dhammika Peniya when the authorities’ focus should have been on vaccination, on 31 August, the Indigenous Medicine Promotion, Rural and Ayurvedic Hospitals Development, and Community Health State Minister Sisira Jayakody said that he has a responsibility to promote indigenous and Ayurvedic medicine, and that promoting the Dhammika Peniya did not harm anyone.  He made this statement in a context where the temporary permit granted to Dhammika Bandara, the maker of the said infamous concoction, has been revoked, as the tonic failed to pass clinical trials. However, the issue does not end there. Rescinding the said permit did not address the fact that Bandara’s failed invention had blunted the people’s faith in the effectiveness of indigenous and Ayurvedic medicines, especially when it comes to indigenous and Ayurvedic medicines’ ability to boost immunity, which is of extreme importance when it comes to protecting against Covid-19. In fact, this is the most alarming truth about the tonic Bandara manufactured, because as a result of his invention, there are now doubts over the things approved of by the Government, as well as the trustworthiness of indigenous and Ayurvedic medical practitioners and medicines.  This should not be the fate of indigenous and Ayurvedic medicines. Some studies have confirmed that many types of medicines and food items prescribed in indigenous and Ayurvedic medicine have the ability not only to strengthen a person’s immune system greatly, but also to help the recovery of those infected with Covid-19. Even though relying solely on indigenous and Ayurvedic medicines is not advisable, local indigenous and Ayurvedic practitioners have claimed that it can help the prevention and recovery significantly, especially as a supplement to Western medicines prescribed to help Covid-19 infected persons recover.  How the Dhammika Peniya affected the people’s faith in indigenous and Ayurvedic medicine is just one aspect of this matter. When Bandara came forward claiming to have manufactured the cure for Covid-19, without questioning or any form of certification, several leading Parliamentarians including then-Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarahchi tasted it in front of the entire nation. Ironically, she later tested positive for Covid-19. Unfortunately, more than any certification, the MPs had the power to influence the people through their actions, and they set in motion a series of debates over using indigenous and Ayurvedic medicine to cure or control Covid-19, and the people gathered in front of Bandara’s house at a time when the spread of Covid-19 was high.  This is high time for the authorities to consider the whole Dhammika Peniya debacle a lesson learned the hard way, in order to pay adequate, proper attention to what it endorses. However, Jayakody’s response does not really show that the authorities have learned this lesson; worse, he seems to have not understood the proper way of promoting and supporting indigenous and Ayurvedic medicine. Supporting indigenous and Ayurvedic medicine should take place not through media shows, but by subjecting them to scientifically accepted testing methods. When the authorities fail to understand that testing comes first, the message it gives to the people is not only wrong, but also harmful.  Sri Lanka already has too many quacks who exploit those seeking easy and miraculously effective ways to cure their illnesses, and the authorities’ job is to regulate, monitor, and ultimately prevent such occurrences, not be a part of them, in the name of promoting indigenous and Ayurvedic medicine.


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