Lok Sabha Question No. 2498 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-14
Subject: Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: A.P. JITHENDER REDDY, PARAYAMPARANBIL KUTTAPPAN BIJU, INNOCENT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## (MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS) LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.2498 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.12.2015

## VAN BANDHU KALYAN YOJANA

## 2498.   SHRI A.P. JITHENDER REDDY:

SHRI P.K. BIJU:

SHRI INNOCENT:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any specific plan to address health issues of tribal students including financial assistance under the 'Health for All' category of the Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana (VBKY);
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (c) the rate of accessibility of tribal women to the facilities of primary healthcare in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA)

(a) & (b) : Government has launched 'Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana (VKY)' as a Central Sector Scheme during the current year 2014-15.  The VKY has been adopted as a strategic process. This process envisages to ensure delivery of goods and services to the tribal population across the country with outcome oriented approach while striking at the critical gaps in the sectors of Housing, Livelihood, Health & Sanitation, Drinking Water, Agriculture & Irrigation, Electricity,  Education,  Skill  development,  Sports  &  Games  and  Preservation  of  Cultural Heritage etc. through appropriate convergence of resources and institutional mechanism.  In this backdrop, the Ministry has prepared a convergence plan which covers the issues to be addressed and outcomes to be achieved in these sectors in collaboration with the line Ministries / Departments. As far as health sector is concerned, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Women and Child Development are the nodal Ministries, which envisage to cater to the following health issues under their TSP allocation, targeting tribal students, in next five years:

- i. Access to Basic Health Facilities - Health Centres and availability of doctors and other health workers such as ANM, Paramedics, ASHA etc. at par with rest of the social groups.
- ii. Reduction in IMR, MMR and CMR by 50% from the existing level.
- iii. 100% immunization of tribal students.
- iv. Effective management of Sickle Cell Anaemia in all the affected States.
- v. Reduction in malaria morbidity by 50% from the existing level.
- vi. Provision of supplementary nutrition to tribal students.
- vii. Iron Folic Acid Supplement/De-worming to all tribal students
- viii. Health check-up of tribal students.

As regards Sickle Cell Anaemia, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, in collaboration with ICMR, has started a campaign to screen estimated 3 crore ST children across the country. through regional training workshops, is facilitating State/ UT to train adequate manpower to complete this screening within current financial year, as have to be screened which cannot be done by Health Department alone.  Training workshops showing live demonstration of the screening test to Medical Practitioners, Health workers, Tribal Welfare official and other Policy makers, have been conducted in most of the tribal States.  Financial support is provided by Government of India for training and screening test. The State Governments are now following up this initiative by conducting field level trainings for field functionaries so as to enable them to complete the task of screening all the tribal children in the stipulated time frame.

## (c): Rate of overall availability of Health Centres per lakh population in Tribal Areas across the country as on 31.03.2015, as informed by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is given below:

|   Sub Centres |   Primary Health Centres |   Community Health Centres |
|---------------|--------------------------|----------------------------|
|          29.8 |                     4.22 |                       1.06 |

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