The health of tribal communities is exposed to severe risks emanating from inadequate health infrastructure and nutrition. In particular, the tribal communities of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh are vulnerable due to several...
moreThe health of tribal communities is exposed to severe risks emanating from inadequate health infrastructure and nutrition. In particular, the tribal communities of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh are vulnerable due to several socioeconomic and institutional factors. The Ministry of tribal affairs reported that only 32% of tribal children eat healthy food. The study assesses the health risk of children in tribal schools of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, identifies their socioeconomic and infrastructural threats, and suggests interventions to mitigate the health risk of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). The analysis is based on a primary survey of 200 students of different tribal schools of Govindpur, Khirkhiree, and Netarhat, supplemented by the secondary data sources. The field survey mainly focused on the health checkup of 157 tribal children and direct interaction with the stakeholders, carried out in June-July 2019. The findings revealed that more than 40.5 and 32.1% of the children in the areas of Govindpur and Khirkhiree were found to be underweight respectively, while 38% of the female children suffered from the dermal infections in Netarhat region. Poor implementation of the MidDay Meal(MDM) scheme was found to be a significant driver posing a high risk to the health and wellness of the tribal children. Other drivers of poor health and wellness are unhygienic environment and conditions (such as open defecation), economic constraints, lack of first aid provisions at school, inaccessibility to portable water, and lack of basic infrastructural facilities (in terms of doctor availability and absence of care during sickness). The paper highlights the need to improve ground level implementation and monitoring mechanisms of several nutritional schemes for tribal children. Training and utilizing local manpower and resources can be incorporated in the targeted policy intervention to strengthen and equip the healthcare Centers. Contribution by voluntary organizations would enhance the resilience of Tribal healthcare.
