The Main Objectives

1. Establishment and empowerment of a network of Ayurveda treatment in the province, which the people can trust and be contented with.
2. Widening of the Ayurveda community medicine service aimed at developing personal attitudes of individuals based on the excellence of indigenous medicine.
3. Modifying the future expectations of the traditional Ayurveda practitioners while conserving the native and traditional knowledge in medicine.
4. Developing the medicinal plants resources within the province and strengthening the   mechanism for production of required drugs within the province using such resources.
5. Encouraging relevant parties for research and development in Ayurveda drugs bringing out the distinctiveness of indigenous medicine and also to meet the needs of the modern world.
6. Encouraging small and medium scale entrepreneurship based on indigenous medicine in the province while identifying and developing such projects which are economically beneficial.

Priority Trust Areas of Provincial Department of AyurvedaUplifting quality of curative care in Ayurveda

• Promoting preventive care service
• Ayurveda and Indigenous medical research and development
• Preserving Traditional Ayurveda knowledge
• Development and marketing of standardized Ayurveda drugs
• Entrepreneurship in traditional medicine.

Curative care service

• Production and distribution of medicine with quality control
• Upgrading the Provincial drug manufacturing unit using new technical methods distribution of semi-automatic machinery
• Introducing quality control methods    - GMP/ISO/HACCP
• Regulating storing and distribution of medicines

Disease prevention service

• Development of infrastructure
• Establishment of District Community Medical coordinating offices and divisional offices
• Human resource management and development
• Strengthening the legal framework
• Development of management information system
• Improving public participation

Ayurveda research and development

• Improving infrastructure
• Encouraging research
• Establishment of a research unit
• Commencement of publications and publish research articles

Traditional medical practices

• Documentation of traditional knowledge
• Promotion of traditional medical methods
• Uplifting the economic condition of those who engaged in traditional medical professions

Production and sale of Ayurveda medicine

• Development of infrastructure, technology and human resources
• Improving the quality and efficiency of production of medicines
• Expansion of market for indigenous medicine
• Introducing entrepreneurship to small and medium scale entrepreneurs with regard to Indigenous medicine
• Expansion and cultivation of medicinal herbs
• Cultivation of medicinal herbs for farmers

Capacity Development and good governance

• Capacity building of staff
• Capacity building of stakeholders of Ayurveda
• Creation of professional trainings and courses
• Introducing systematic regulatory systems

Sections

1. Administration
2. Planning
3. Education
4. Accounts
5. Audit

Units

1. Early Childhood Development unit
2. Community Water supply unit

About Provincial Department of Ayurveda - Central Province, Sri Lanka

The term ‘Ayurveda’ is referred to different Traditional Medicines- TRM exists in the country. It refers to the Ayurvedic system of medicine from North India, the Siddha system of medicine from South India and the Unani system of medicine of Arabs enriched with contributions from the traditional system of medicine called "Desheeya Chikitsa" is popularly known as the Indigenous system of medicine. Existing system of TRM in Sri Lanka does not exclusively represent the indigenous identity of a Sri Lankan system.

It is mostly influenced by Indian system of Ayurveda and evolved through Asian roots of TRM. It was similarly exposed to all religious, trade, political missions throughout the history like any other national cultural tradition. TRM is a holistic health care system in Sri Lanka with an exclusive health belief system and positive stream of social behaviour based on the culturally honoured, ethno-centric, patient-oriented, humanistic, value-based professionalism. The national health care system in Sri Lanka was officially recognized after the first Allopathic hospital implanted by Portuguese.

The Ayurveda Act No. 31 of 1961 institutionalized the TRM system, and it had been gradually subject to ‘Ayurvedization’ and indigenous identity was getting merged in Indian context. Once the Ayurveda education system was institutionalized it reconstituted in biomedical model. Graduate practitioners rather relied on Western medicine and began to establish a "mixed" or "hybrid" system in Ayurvedic TRM. It was not a desirable to Allopathic practitioners and highly criticized by TRM purist front which led to a double burden issue in TRM sector. It was 1980's the most significant evocation taken place with a separate Ministry for Indigenous Medicine (IM) and some of the outcomes are still sustained in the sector. Currently there is a full pledged cabinet Ministry for IM but detached from mainstream National Health System.

Proving that its holistic approach to treatments, effectiveness in the herbal treatments and the patient care have made TRM survived its times, the provincial authorities of TRM also highlighted the successful treatments on diabetics introduced by the TRM doctors in Southern Province. They requested to promote such specialized areas through the clinics to give the benefit to the people.