Bone-setters have been included in NRHM to overcome acute lack
of doctors in Nagaland Faced with an acute shortage of medical
doctors, the Nagaland government is now encouraging traditional
systems of medicine to provide healthcare to its people. This is
being done by including traditional healthcare practitioners in
the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) under the AYUSH
(ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddha and homoeopathy) system. While
most systems of alternative medicines are integrated in the
NRHM, Nagaland government has also included bone-setting under
the system. Bone-setting is an art that is passed on from
generation to generation. ``We have a strong system of
traditional medicines and people accept these systems very
well,'' Dr Yangerlemla, Principal Director, Department of Health
and Family Welfare (Nagaland) said, adding that it was a
conscious decision to incorporate bone-setters in the health
stream. There is a great demand for orthopaedics in Nagaland as
falls and accidents are common in this mount