Initiatives
in the area of Traditional Treatment
Voluntary Health
Association of Assam(VHAA) is one of the
first organizations to have started work
on the promotion of the Indian Systems
of Medicine(ISM) throughout the state
of Assam.
The organization has always promoted and
propagated the preventive aspects of community
health through the concept of health
for non-health rather than focus on
the curative side of health care.
Infact the organization incorporated promotion
of ISM in all aspects of grassroot level
training and capacity building. VHAA has
in its team a very renowned traditional
practitioner working full time with the
organization. VHAA 's Nodal Agency RRTCITT(Regional
Research and Training Centre on Indian
Traditional Treatment) also has a herbal
garden with more than 400 species of medicinal
plants and herbs in Golaghat.
VHAA
identifies and trains traditional practitioners
throughout the state as in other parts
of the region, helping them to upgrade
their skills in regard to traditional
treatment so that they can popularize
the concept through the introduction of
a more professional mode of treatment,
dosage of medicine etc.
These
skill upgradation programmes programmes
are generally conducted in collaboration
with VHAA's member organizations wherever
awareness generation programmes on herbal
medicine and treatment have already been
conducted, followed by identification
of practitioners who are genuinely practicing
the system and advocating herbal treatment
specially for common ailments and ailments
of children as a measure to control serious
health problems like Diabetes, Blood pressure,
Cancer etc.
The organization has also taken up treatment
camps under the ISM in a big way in collaboration
with its Nodal Agencies and its RCH projects
partners in the five districts of Darrang,
Golaghat, Lakhimpur, Nagaon and Sonitpur.
Such
camps have drawn tremendous response from
the people, specially those living in
remote and not easily accessible areas.
A
positive health-seeking attitude has been
fostered amongst school-going children,
specially amongst the adolescents.
A
large number of women and children were
treated for various ailments including
gynaecological problems etc.
Besides
these the organization also promotes the
practice of Yoga for a healthy and fit
lifestyle, and the use of alternative
sources of treatment like the streams
of AYUSH(Ayurdeda,Unani,Siddha and Homeopathy).
