Parliament Question: Improvement in tribal health and nutrition

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-3822 TO BE ANSWERED ON-25/03/2026 IMPROVEMENT IN TRIBAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION 3822 SMT. S. PHANGNON KONYAK:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) the health and nutrition programmes implemented in tribal-dominated districts in the last three years; and

(b) whether recent data indicates changes in anaemia, malnutrition or maternal health indicators among tribal populations? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGADAS UIKEY)

(a): The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) is the nodal ministry for implementation of health and nutrition programmes. As per information received from Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, National Health Mission (NHM) provides support for improvement in health infrastructure, availability of adequate human resources in health facilities, to improve availability and accessibility to quality healthcare across the country including all tribal dominated districts.

Various initiatives carried out under NHM by the Government of India in the country are operationalisation of Ayushman Arogya Mandir (AAM), Free Drugs Service Initiative, Free Diagnostic Service Initiative, National Ambulance Services, Mobile Medical Units, ASHAs, 24 x 7 Services and First Referral Facilities, Prime Minister's National Dialysis Programme, various activities under Reproductive & Child Health, Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) strategy, TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan and Universal Immunization programme.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is implementing Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy in a life cycle approach under NHM, which includes interventions to increase awareness and address undernutrition including calorie deficiency and protein malnutrition across the country including all tribal dominated districts. Such programs are as below:- Facility Based New-born Care: Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs)/ Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs) are established at Medical College and District Hospital, New-born Stabilization Units (NBSUs) are established at First Referral Units

(FRUs)/Community Health Centres (CHCs) for care of sick and small babies.  Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is implemented at facility and community level for low birth weight/ pre-term babies. It includes early and prolonged skin-to-skin contact with the mother or family member and exclusive and frequent breastfeeding.

 Mothers’ Absolute Affection (MAA): Early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding for first six months and appropriate Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices are promoted under Mothers’ Absolute Affection (MAA).

 Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs) are established at public health facilities where children with Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and medical complications are admitted for treatment.  Lactation Management Centres are established to ensure availability of Mother’s Own Milk or safe, pasteurized Donor Human Milk for feeding of sick, preterm, low birth weight babies admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Units and Special Newborn Care Units.

 Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) is implemented to reduce the prevalence of anemia among six beneficiary groups - Children (6-59 months), Children (5-9 years), Adolescents (10-19 years), Women of reproductive age (15-49 years), pregnant women and lactating mothers in a lifecycle approach.

 National Deworming Day (NDD)  Vitamin A supplementation Programme  Home Based New-born Care (HBNC) and Home-Based Care of Young Children (HBYC) programme  Monthly Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND) Under Mission Poshan 2.0, the Government focuses on Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM)/ Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) and wellness through AYUSH practices to reduce prevalence of wasting, stunting, anaemia and being underweight. Supplementary Nutrition is provided to children age 6 months to 6 years, pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescent girls at Anganwadi centres as per nutrition norms, based on principles of diet diversity that provides quality protein, healthy fats and micronutrients.

Further, Ministry of Tribal Affairs as a part of its effort to achieve the objectives of National Mission to Eliminate Sickle Cell Anemia by 2047 has included the component of establishment of Centre of Competence (CoC) and Awareness Generation and Counselling under its flagship program of Dharti Aaba Jantatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DA-JGUA) launched by Hon’ble PM in October,2024.. CoCs act as centers of excellence, providing advanced diagnostic facilities, patient support systems, and multidisciplinary expertise to address hemoglobinopathies effectively. So far, the Ministry has sanctioned 17 Centers of Competencein 15 States, across the country including AIIMS with a budget of around Rs. 52 crores. - Telangana, Odisha, Assam, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh

(b): There are various mechanisms and survey agencies which generate data on tribal healthcare on a periodic basis. National Family Health Survey (NFHS) provides details on major changes in malnutrition and maternal health indicators among all the high-burden tribal/backward districts across the country. Census of India provides population and household details including tribal/backward areas. National Sample Survey provides household surveys on various socio-economic subjects. The State-wise list of key indicators NFHS-5 may be

extracted from below mentioned link: https://www.nfhsiips.in/nfhsuser/publication.php *****