Gondwana University in Gadchiroli has launched a Traditional Healers’ Clinic (Vaidya Chikitsalaya) in collaboration with local tribal healers to provide treatment for common ailments, becoming the first university in the country to introduce such an initiative. The innovative project has been launched under the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Dr Prashant Bokare, inspired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who had encouraged the university to undertake community-oriented initiatives benefiting local people. The clinic aims to formally recognise the traditional knowledge of indigenous healers, provide them with institutional support and livelihood opportunities, and make affordable healthcare accessible to people in remote tribal areas.

 

The university’s Science and Technology Resource Centre (STRC) is managing the initiative under the leadership of Swapnil Girde. The project seeks to bridge the gap between traditional tribal medicine and modern healthcare through research, documentation and scientific validation. For generations, tribal communities such as the Gond, Madia and Pardhi have relied on traditional healers for primary healthcare. Despite their extensive knowledge of medicinal plants and indigenous treatment, these practitioners have largely remained outside the formal healthcare system and often faced social stigma. Recognising the risk of this traditional knowledge disappearing due to migration and changing lifestyles, Gondwana University has begun identifying experienced healers through village-level outreach programmes.

 

Their practices are being documented and scientifically evaluated with the help of botanists and naturopathy experts. As part of the initiative, the university provides institutional recognition and certification to traditional healers. At present, 14 healers are offering services at the university clinic, while more than 50 certified healers continue serving their villages with enhanced social recognition and improved livelihood opportunities. The outpatient clinic offers treatment for common ailments at a nominal fee ranging from Rs 20 to Rs 50. Patients requiring advanced care are referred to modern medical practitioners whenever necessary.

 

The clinic has already benefitted thousands of patients. Traditional healer Rambhai Lallai Raut said that, practitioners who had long faced neglect due to perceptions of being unscientific now receive respect and recognition for their inherited medical knowledge. Describing the initiative as more than just a healthcare project, Vice-Chancellor Dr Prashant Bokare told ‘The Hitavada’, “It represents a process of social and cultural revival. He noted that systematic documentation of centuries-old medicinal knowledge, combined with scientific validation, will help preserve valuable indigenous healthcare traditions, while strengthening affordable primary healthcare in tribal regions. He added that, the initiative, inspired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, has brought long-overdue recognition to traditional healers and integrated them into a structured healthcare framework.”