Chronic under-nutrition or stunting (too short for one’s age) is responsible for one-third of under-five child deaths. According to the National Family Health Survey-3 (2005-06), India has the highest number of stunted children globally and out of which maximum numbers are from tribal communities.
Taking cognisance of this, Odisha’s ST & SC Development Department and SC&ST Research and Training Institute, in collaboration with the Departments of Women and Child Development and Health and Family Welfare, the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Unicef Odisha have come together to hold a two-day a conclave ‘Nourishing India’s Tribal Children’ at hotel Mayfair in Bhubaneswar on January 15 and 16, 2015.
The focus of the conclave is to collectively identify gaps and good practices and prepare a roadmap for improving access of tribal children to food, nutrition, health and sanitation that would improve their nutritional status. Participants would include practitioners, Government officers and field workers from the Schedule V States, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana.