For the first time, the Union Ministry of AYUSH has stepped forward with a special health initiative for sex workers in North Bengal. Under the Healthy Women, Healthy Families project, the Regional Research Institute of Homeopathy (RRH), North Bengal, has begun a campaign to raise health awareness and provide treatment to women in marginalised communities, including sex workers. The drive commenced on Monday and will continue until October 2.
Ranjit Soni, Director of RRH, said, “The Central Research Institute of Homeopathy under the Ministry of AYUSH has taken this initiative to spread awareness about women’s health in various fields. Special focus will be on menstrual health, post-menopausal complications and preventive care.”
A health camp was held on the launch day where women volunteers handled everything—from registration to preparing medicines.
The campaign will cover districts across North Bengal, beginning this week from Cooch Behar. “Sex workers are among the most marginalised in society. Their health is often neglected, yet they face higher risks due to unsafe practices such as unprotected sex, which increases vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. That is why our initiative is starting with them,” Soni explained.
North Bengal alone is estimated to have around 1.5 lakh sex workers. Through this initiative, RRH aims to provide both awareness and treatment in sex villages across the region.
The RRH campus at Boro Pothu, near Siliguri, already sees between 200 and 250 patients daily from districts across North Bengal, as well as neighbouring states like Sikkim and Bihar.
Harlin Kaur, a researcher at the Central Research Institute of Homeopathy, highlighted another urgent concern. “A significant number of cancer patients are now reporting to our outpatient departments. Research on this area will begin soon, alongside our ongoing women’s health campaign,” she said.
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In addition, the Ministry of AYUSH has expanded research into HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART). A state-of-the-art homeopathy laboratory has been set up in Hyderabad, where scientists are studying how homeopathy could support HIV-infected patients. Research data has already been submitted from Mumbai, Delhi and other parts of the country.
Dr Vaidurya Bhattacharya, associated with the project, said, “The new Hyderabad laboratory has opened up immense possibilities. Research has already started and this could become a milestone in the integration of homeopathy with modern HIV care.”
With this campaign, the Ministry of AYUSH seeks not only to extend healthcare to marginalised communities but also to strengthen India’s homeopathy-based research into critical diseases like cancer and HIV.
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