Tribal health issues to be targeted separately

Separating tribal health issues from the mainstream, malaria, sickle cell anaemia, nutrition and maternal and child health would now be targeted in a new initiative of the government.

"Statistics say that the tribal health issues are different from the mainstream health issues as a result of which they are in the bottom line of indication," an official release said here Tuesday.

All these special tribal health issues would be discussed threadbare at a seminar jointly being organized by the ministry of tribal affairs and the Indian Council of Medical Research, the release said.

The main objective of the day-long seminar to be held Wednesday is to share good case studies and researches to eradicate burning health problems of the tribals and to find out how the findings from these case studies can be replicated by other states.

The seminar would also discuss the role of various ministries and agencies, including NGOs.

The release said that the initiatives would be taken to make small and affordable measures which can significantly reduce the health risks that women face when they become pregnant.

A web-enabled mother and child tracking system is also being implemented by the health department as a mission mode project under the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) to register and track every pregnant woman.