Abstract

As a large populous country India always faces a paucity of health workforce. The dearth of these health workforce troubles the public health system of the country. This can better way be managed by a robust public health workforce from different systems of medicine including Ayurveda. The importance of Ayurveda workforce, principles and therapeutics for public health intervention are gaining recognition these days. The present document focuses on the suitability of Ayurveda graduates for public health practice. The best example where Ayurveda graduates are in to hard core public health practice is the appointment of AYUSH doctors under the scheme of “mainstreaming of AYUSH and revitalization of local health traditions” within the broad umbrella of National Rural Health Mission. Government of India has recognized some of the principles and therapeutics of Ayurveda as a mode of intervention to some of the community health problems. Private sectors are also increasingly recognizing the potential of Ayurveda graduates trained in public health for the management and implementation of various public health programmes. It’s indeed high time to recognize the huge potential of Ayurveda graduates as suitable public health workforce on the basis of their training, exposure and interest. The paucity of public health workforce could be replenished to a great extent with such recognition and appreciation.

Key words: Ayurveda Doctor, Public Health Workforce, Suitability