A national-level mega health screening and management project covering over 20,000 students across 55 Ekalavya Model Residential Schools in fourteen States across the country, is scheduled for launch on Wednesday.
To be kicked off at an event here, the project is led by Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ayush and Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and Arjun Munda, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs and Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare. It integrates Ayurvedic interventions to address prevalent health issues among tribal youth, such as anaemia, haemoglobinopathies, malnutrition, and tuberculosis.
With a focus on anaemia, haemoglobinopathies, malnutrition, and tuberculosis, the project aims to foster healthy lifestyle practices and disease management among tribal youth.
The Ministry of Ayush through its research council CCRAS has taken this health initiative for Tribal Students in collaboration with the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and ICMR- National Institute of Research in Tribal Health (NIRTH) Jabalpur.
The project aims at screening the general health condition of the students enrolled in classes 6th to 12th. Efforts will be made to inculcate healthy lifestyle practices among students as per the principles of Ayurveda. Also, an integrated approach will be made for the management of the diseases.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Ayush and Ministry of Tribal Affairs in October 2022 to explore the areas of collaboration, convergence and synergy for tribal development. Accordingly, CCRAS developed 72 Poshan Vatikas in EMRS of 20 states. CCRAS Institutes also participated in the mega health camps during Janajati Mahotsav at Saraikela, Jharkhand.
Tribal health in India is still an area of concern after more than seven decades of independence, despite various efforts. The tribal population of the country, as per 2011 census, is 10.43 crore, constituting 8.6% of the total population; 89.97% of them live in rural areas and 10.03% in urban areas.