Tribals (Adivasi) still deprived of healthcare facilities in Jharkhand state: Study

Kelly Kislaya, TNN | Aug 7, 2013, 12.54 AM IST

BY COURESTY : TIMES OF INDIA, RANCHI

RANCHI: When it came into existence in 2000, Jharkhand had promised several benefits to its tribal population. But welfare of the tribals, especially on the healthcare front, has not been up to the mark.

Data collected from various central government studies reveal that the tribals suffer from anemia, malnourishment, do not get the benefits of institutional delivery and lack in proper care for other health related issues. The condition of the tribal population in Jharkhand is bad compared to the non-tribal population in the state and also ranks very low among the tribals in India.

Census 2011 states that the scheduled tribe (ST) population constitutes 26.2% which is 86 lakh of the total population of Jharkhand. Khunti district has the highest percentage of scheduled tribes which is 73% followed by Simdega 71% and Gumla 69%. National Family Health Survey 3 (NFHS 3) data states that in Jharkhand 69.5% women between 15 and 49 years of age are suffering from anaemia while 85% ST women suffer from the same problem. When compared to ST women in India, there too Jharkhand tribals seem neglected as only 68.5% ST women in the country suffer from anaemia.

The picture is equally bleak for Jharkhand tribals when it comes to child healthcare. In the state, 70.3% non-tribal children between the age group of 6 and 59 months suffer from anaemia while 79.5% ST children suffer from the same. Whereas 76.8% ST children suffer from anaemia in the country.

The NFHS 3 data also states that the number of underweight ST children under five years is higher in Jharkhand than in the country. Only 54.5% ST children are underweight in the country while 64.3% are underweight in Jharkhand.

The District Level Health Survey 3 data talks about institutional births. The data states that while the percentage of institutional delivery, which is 17.7%, is higher in Jharkhand when compared to the country's average of 14.7%, the trend is followed only by 7.9% ST women in the state.

Even when it comes to hygiene, the tribal households in the state lag behind. According to census 2011, in Jharkhand around 12.9% households have piped water source for drinking while only 5.6% ST houses have it. Similarly, 7.7% rural households have toilet facilities within the house premises while only 3.7% ST households have it.

UNICEF state head, Job Zacariah, said, "You can take up any indicator and you will find that tribals of the state are far behind than the non-tribal population. The only way to uplift them is through education. Unfortunately, the dropout rate from school between Class I and VIII is also very high. The survey of school education report 2009-2010 shows that 76.8% ST students in Jharkhand dropped out before Class VIII while 57.8% drop out across the country."