President Wickremesinghe to Establish National Council on Ayurveda and Promote Indigenous Medicine for Tourism

September 07, Colombo (LNW): President Ranil Wickremesinghe has announced his intention to recognize Ayurveda as a medical science and is actively working to establish a National Council on Ayurveda to achieve this goal. The President emphasized that a comprehensive five-year plan will be implemented to enhance Ayurveda and traditional indigenous medicine practices across the country. He also highlighted plans to leverage Ayurveda as a key component in promoting tourism in Sri Lanka.

President Wickremesinghe made these remarks while addressing the Indigenous Medical Conference at the Waters Edge Hotel in Battaramulla yesterday (6). The conference was organized by practitioners and stakeholders from various disciplines, including traditional, Ayurvedic, Siddha, Unani, and Homeopathic medicine, along with indigenous medicine manufacturers, exporters, industrialists, shopkeepers, and others in the field. The event aimed to support President Wickremesinghe in the upcoming presidential election.

During the conference, a proposal for the advancement of the indigenous medical field was presented to the President. Addressing the gathering, President Wickremesinghe shared an anecdote about a patient he treated in 2022, who has now fully recovered. He cautioned against an “unqualified doctor” who might cause the patient to relapse, suggesting that taking the wrong medicine could prevent a full recovery.

President Wickremesinghe elaborated further: “In 2022, a patient was entrusted to me for treatment. Initially, we had to assess their condition, and then we managed to address the issue with a special remedy and a bitter decoction. Two years later, the patient has recovered and is now up and about.”