Kerala to organise week-long healthcare campaign for tribal communities

A week-long healthcare campaign would be organised for tribal communities in Kerala starting August 9, the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, said K. Radhakrishnan, Minister for Welfare of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes, on Friday.

Replying to questions in the Assembly, he said the event would be held jointly by the departments of Scheduled Tribes Development, Local Self Government and Health. Steps were being taken to address issues related to healthcare and malnutrition among tribespeople, said Mr. Radhakrishnan.

There were around 770 patients with sickle cell anaemia, a genetic disease, among the tribespeople in the districts of Wayanad, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Malappuram, he said.

The Minister said community kitchens would be opened wherever needed in tribal areas as part of the efforts to address malnutrition. The kitchens were started in Attapady in Palakkad district following the spate of malnutrition-related deaths of tribal children.

The ST Development Department would also organise a special campaign in tribal hamlets during the festival season to generate awareness about the adverse effects of alcohol and drugs, said Mr. Radhakrishnan. The campaign will be organised in collaboration with the Excise Department.

Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said the deaths of tribal children due to malnutrition should, in reality, be treated as murder. “The system is the culprit. The deaths are due to the failure of the system,” he said.

To a related question, Mr. Radhakrishnan said a department-level mechanism had been instituted to ensure corruption-free implementation of welfare programmes meant for tribal communities.