New Delhi: To make India a self-reliant nation, we have to make every Indian disease-free, Union Minister of Ayush and Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal stated on Wednesday (February 21) in New Delhi during the announcement of the joint National Level Project of Health Screening and Management through Ayurvedic Interventions. This project will benefit over 20,000 tribal students. The Ministry of Ayush through its research council, the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) has taken this health initiative for tribal students with the joint initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and ICMR-National Institute for Research in Tribal Health, Jabalpur.
During the announcement, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda was also present. Both the Union Ministers announced a joint initiative to address the health needs of children in Eklavya Model Residential Schools across tribal areas through public health initiatives.
Also Read: Transgender Council Members Raise Issue Of Building Unisex Toilets, Shelter Homes With Government
The Ayush Minister Sonowal said that both Ministries join hands to study the health needs of the Tribal population and cater to public health care services in major thrust areas in as malnutrition, iron deficiency, anaemia and Sickle Cell Diseases through Ayurveda interventions, which are already prevalent and effective in addressing these health needs.
He said that this project aims to cover the students of 10-18 years of age group enrolled in classes 6th to 12th in identified 55 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) across 14 states of the country.
On this occasion, the Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said,
Starting a national-level project on health screening and management will help in identifying the prevalence of diseases and health management among our Eklavya students. It will help in developing healthy lifestyle practices in children as per the principles of Ayurveda, thereby improving and protecting their health and overall well-being, with emphasis on the prevention of diseases.
Also Read: Climate Change And Increase In Diarrhoeal Disease – What’s The Connection?
Mr Arjun Munda added that there should be a medicinal plant garden in the schools to make our future generation aware of the importance of traditional medicines in our citizen’s lives.
The project aims at screening the general health condition of the students enrolled in classes 6th to 12th. The screening will be carried out in 55 selected Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) spread across 14 states of the country.
The special focus is on anaemia, hemoglobinopathies, malnutrition and tuberculosis. Efforts will be made to inculcate healthy lifestyle practices among students as per the principles of Ayurveda. Also, an integrated approach will be made for the management of the diseases.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Ayush and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in October 2022 to explore the areas of collaboration, convergence and synergy for tribal development.
Accordingly, CCRAS developed 72 Poshan Vatikas in the EMRS of 20 states. CCRAS Institutes also participated in the mega health camps during Janajati Mahotsav at Saraikela, Jharkhand.
Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs) impart quality education to Scheduled Tribes (ST) children in remote areas to enable them to avail of opportunities in high and professional educational courses and get employment in various sectors.
The schools focus not only on academic education but on the all-round development of the students including good health. At present, there are 401 functional schools spanned across the country with focus on special state-of-the-art facilities for providing quality education and training in sports and skill development.
During the announcement of the Joint Public Health Initiatives and Research and Development Initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Ministry of Ayush, Sarbananda Sonowal and Union Minister Arjun Munda unveiled the e-book and released the brochure of their joint health initiatives.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
