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National Tribal Health Mission

This article will cover detailed information about National Tribal Health Mission

Why in the News?

On the International Day of Indigenous Peoples, a national tribal health mission might pave the way for a peaceful health revolution for India’s tribal people.

Key Points:

  • Tribal Population: As per the Census of India (2011) 11 crore tribal people (enumerated as Scheduled Tribes (ST) live in India. 
    • They constitute 8.6% of India’s population.

Issues with the Tribal Population:

  • Malnutrition: Child malnutrition is 50% higher in tribal children.
  • Poor Public Health care institutions: Tribal people heavily depend on government-run public healthcare institutions.
    • There is a 27% to 40% deficit in the number of such facilities and 33% to 84% deficit in medical doctors in tribal areas.
  • Low Participation: There is hardly any participation of the tribal people – locally or at the State or national level – in designing, planning or delivering health care to them.
  • Lack of data: there is no separate data on tribal people’s health, or healthcare or on the money spent.
  • Half of India’s tribal population live outside the Scheduled Areas, as a scattered and marginalised minority. 
  • Malaria and tuberculosis are three to 11 times more common among the tribal people.
    • half of the total malaria deaths in India occur among them.
  • Hypertension and diabetes, mental health problems such as depression and addiction leading to cancer and suicide, are increasing.

A Road Map:

  • Launch a National Tribal Health Action Plan with a goal to bring the status of health and healthcare at par with the respective State averages in the next 10 years. 
  • Address the priority health problems, the health care gap, the human resource gap and the governance problems. 
  • Allocation of additional money so that the per capita government health expenditure on tribal people becomes equal to the stated goal of the National Health Policy (2017), i.e. 2.5% of the per capita GDP.

Conclusion: 

  • The tribal healthcare system is sick, and tribal people need more substantive solutions. 
  • There is a need to move from symbolic gestures to substantive promises
  • The Tribal Health Mission can be the path to a peaceful health revolution for the 11 crore tribal people. 

Additional Information:

  • International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is on 9th August every year to raise awareness and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population.