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Connecting the Unconnected: The Way Forward for Public Health to Reach the Unreached Tribal Communities in India


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1 ICMR-National Institute of Research in Tribal Health, Nagpur Road, Jabalpur 482 003, India
 

India is home to more than 10.43 crore Scheduled Tribe (ST) people accounting for 8.6% of the country’s total population. Among the 705 STs, 75 groups are categorized as particularly vulnerable tribal groups. The Government of India has a number of programmes and schemes for holistic development of the tribes. In spite of this, tribal health continues to be a major concern. Invariably, in every tribe there are traditional healer(s) who provide primary healthcare and also a medium to connect man with nature and the divine. However, till date there are no policies to recognize and acknowledge the services being provided by these healers for the community at large. This note envisages to draw attention to this critical policy gap which, if filled, could help in achieving universal health coverage for all, especially in tribal areas.
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  • Connecting the Unconnected: The Way Forward for Public Health to Reach the Unreached Tribal Communities in India

Abstract Views: 452  |  PDF Views: 167

Authors

Nishant Saxena
ICMR-National Institute of Research in Tribal Health, Nagpur Road, Jabalpur 482 003, India
Dinesh Kumar
ICMR-National Institute of Research in Tribal Health, Nagpur Road, Jabalpur 482 003, India
Aparup Das
ICMR-National Institute of Research in Tribal Health, Nagpur Road, Jabalpur 482 003, India

Abstract


India is home to more than 10.43 crore Scheduled Tribe (ST) people accounting for 8.6% of the country’s total population. Among the 705 STs, 75 groups are categorized as particularly vulnerable tribal groups. The Government of India has a number of programmes and schemes for holistic development of the tribes. In spite of this, tribal health continues to be a major concern. Invariably, in every tribe there are traditional healer(s) who provide primary healthcare and also a medium to connect man with nature and the divine. However, till date there are no policies to recognize and acknowledge the services being provided by these healers for the community at large. This note envisages to draw attention to this critical policy gap which, if filled, could help in achieving universal health coverage for all, especially in tribal areas.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv120%2Fi1%2F24-26