Unicef's National conclave ‘Nourishing India’s Tribal Children’ begins in Odisha

‘Nutrition of tribal children in State need to be improved’

BHUBANESWAR: Tribal children of nine scheduled V States including Odisha need to be given proper nutrition for their growth and development, opined experts attending a two-day long national-level conclave ‘Nourishing India’s Tribal Children' organised by the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry, the Government of Odisha and the Unicef here on Thursday. 

Inaugurating the conclave SC and ST Development Minister Lal Bihari Himirika said that there are 62 different tribes and 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) live in 13 out of 30 districts in Odisha. Progress of the State would remain incomplete without taking the needs and aspirations of the tribal population into account, he added.

“Improvement in nutritional outcomes requires not just the provision of food but also access to other interventions like health outreach and referral services in tribal areas, clean drinking water, open defecation free environment, reducing the incidence of poverty and ensuring livelihoods,” said Himirika and added that all the departments of the State with the help of the Centre should work unitedly to address this problem.

Unicef India representative Louis-Georges Arsenault said that percentage of tribal children who are stunted remains stubbornly high at above 50 per cent by 2013. “It is evident that this grim situation is a reflection of multiple deprivations that the tribal population has continued to face over the years,” he added.

He said a multi-sector approach is required to address the malnutrition problem with particular focus on population groups that face multiple deprivations, such as the tribals. This means including nutrition promotion in livelihood and food security programmes or in social protection schemes, he added.

Joint Secretary (Policy), Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Dr Manoj Jhalan said that when a child has become malnourished, his physical, digestive, resistance capacity to fight the disease is reduced. He becomes an easy prey to all kinds of problems related to health, he added.

Kendrapada MP Baijayant Panda said the Centre should come up with a campaign like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to stop malnourishment and stunting in children living in the country. “If we can’t stop malnutrition and stunting of children in the country, we cannot become a strong and global super power in the world,” said Panda.

Among others, Minister of State (Tribal Welfare) Sudam Marndi, chief of Unicef field office in Odisha Yumi Bae, officials of the Central and the State Government were present.