Malaysia seeks help to set up Ayurvedic hospital

Jaipur: Malaysia has sought the help of a premier Jaipur-based institute to introduce ayurveda in their country. A high-level delegation headed by the Malaysian health minister visited the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA) in Jaipur to check out the academic, research and patient care functions there, NIA officials told IANS here Friday. The Malaysian team showed interest in collaborating with the institute for developing ayurveda in their country, they added. "We have asked them to let us know about the kind of assistance they need from us," said NIA director Mahesh Chandra Sharma. "The delegation went around the institute and saw the teaching and training activities, the methods of preparing different kinds of medicines in the pharmacy and other hospital activities," Sharma added. NIA is an apex institute under the central government's department of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy). The institute also has a well-equipped hospital. The pharmacy manufactures around 125 types of ayurvedic medicines.