30 September 2023 12:27 am Views - 1772
The migration of medical professionals, which has jeopardized the Western healthcare in Sri Lanka has also impacted the Ayurvedic medicine.
According to Government Ayurvedic Medical O cers’association (GAMOA), Media Secretary Dr Indunil Jayasinghe, about 100 Ayurvedic doctors have already left the country with a signi- ficant fraction anticipating migrating.
“The Ayurvedic doctors have been forced to leave the country owing to the prolonged issues, which remained unaddressed challenging the Ayurvedic medicine,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr. Prasad Hendawitharana of the GAMOA told Daily Mirror that about 250 Ayurvedic doctors are expected to leave the country in the coming six months, which is a huge blow to the system.
“The Government is in fact clueless as to what measures need to be taken to address the migration as there is no sustainable solution at present. However, the matter should have been nipped in the bud,” he added.
When asked the countries where Ayurvedic doctors migrate to, Dr Hendawitharana said “There is a massive demand for Ayurvedic doctors in New Zealand and thus, a large proportion of Ayurvedic doctors has migrated to New Zealand.
“Besides, they also tend to migrate to Canada, German, UK, New Zealand and Australia given the opportunities available in universities,” he added.
He further noted that Sri Lankan Ayurvedic doctors are also branching out in job opportunities in the fields such as therapy and wellness, where they get much higher salaries than what they do here. (Sheain Fernandopulle)