Launch of National Health Screening and Management Project for Tribal Students
Context:
A National Level Project of Health Screening and Management through Ayurvedic Interventions to benefit over 20,000 Tribal Students to be launched.
Relevance:
GS-02 (Health)
Background:
- Despite efforts over the years, tribal health remains a concern in India. With a population of 10.43 crore, constituting 8.6% of the total population, the tribal communities face numerous challenges in accessing healthcare services, especially in rural areas.
- The Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) scheme, introduced in 1997-98 by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, aims to address this by providing quality education to tribal students in remote areas.
Main highlights:
- A new national project is set to benefit over 20,000 tribal students by focusing on health screening and management through Ayurvedic interventions.
- Targeting students from classes 6th to 12th, the project will be implemented in 55 Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) across 14 states.
- The primary focus areas include anaemia, haemoglobinopathies, malnutrition, and tuberculosis.
- The initiative aims to promote healthy lifestyle practices based on Ayurvedic principles and adopt an integrated approach to disease management.
- This initiative is led by the Ministry of Ayush in partnership with its research council CCRAS, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and the ICMR-National Institute of Research in Tribal Health (NIRTH) in Jabalpur.
