U in AYUSH stands for :

AYUSH is an acronym for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy and are the six Indian systems of medicine prevalent and practiced in India and some of the neighboring Asian countries with very few exceptions in some of the developed countries.

Key Points

• AYUSH is purposed with developing education, research, and propagation of indigenous alternative medicine systems in India.
• A department called the department of the Indian system of medicine was created in March 1995 and renamed AYUSH in November with a focus to provide increased attention for the development of these systems.
• This was felt in order to give increased attention to these systems in the presence of a strong counterpart in the form of an allopathic system of medicine which lead to an “architectural correction” in the health service envisaged by the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Before the initiation of NRHM, most of these systems including workforces, therapeutics, and principles were limited to their own field with few exceptions in some states, as health in India is a state issue.
• This took a reverse turn after the initiation of NRHM and the AYUSH systems were brought into mainstream health care. NRHM came into play in 2005 but was implemented at ground level in 2006 and introduced the concept of “mainstreaming of AYUSH and revitalization of local health traditions” to strengthen public health services.
• This concept helped in utilizing the untapped AYUSH workforce, therapeutics, and the principles for the management of community health problems at different levels.
• This convergence has been envisaged with the following objectives:
  • Choice of the treatment system to the patients
  • Strengthen facility functionally
  • Strengthen implementation of national health programs.

• In the mainstreaming of AYUSH and revitalization of local health traditions AYUSH workforce, therapeutics and principles have been implemented in various states at a different level.

Hence, U in AYUSH stands for Unani.