BHUBANESWAR: The State Food Commission has recommended to the Health and Family Welfare Department to allow Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery to conduct simple tests like malaria and haemoglobin in remote areas after thorough professional training under the supervision of doctors.At a review meeting here recently, the Commission wondered why the services of ANMs deputed to ST and SC Development Department should be under-utilised since their counterparts have been successfully rendering many primary healthcare services.
“The department should analyse the number of deaths of children studying in residential schools in the last five years and determine the cause. The provisions made to feed the students in SC/ST hostels should be adequate and there should be no undernourishment leading to anaemia or haemoglobin deficiency among the inmates. More effective steps need to be taken to safeguard the interests of underprivileged,” the Commission stated.
Observing that many research scholars conduct their research on health and nutrition status of PVTGs and other tribal groups through the STs and SCs Research Training Institute (STSCRTI), the quasi judicial regulatory body suggested the institution to facilitate suitable studies on health and nutrition gathering data for developing indicators on Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and other vulnerable STs/SCs.
Though as per the policy, students affected due to closure of schools should be admitted in nearby State-run residential schools, many ST/SC students have been facing serious difficulties to pursue their studies. The Commission directed to provide additional sections in different classes to handle such grave situations instead of offering ‘travelling expenses’ to affected students.The Commission also recommended that the Individual Forest Rights (IFR) conferred upon the forest dwelling households should be followed up to the logical end and the land, suitable either for horticulture or agriculture, clearly demarcated at site.
The beneficiaries should be given supporting land maps and the land be developed utilising MGNREGS funds besides providing irrigation facilities at feasible sites.Pointing out that NFHS-4 data from tribal-dominated districts do not highlight the plight of the vulnerable sections of the society, it asked the ST/SC Development Department to engage with Health and Family Welfare Department to identify and screen the population suffering from sickle cell anaemia in the tribal-dominated areas, particularly in areas like G Udayagiri block of Kandhamal district where the IMR is much higher among tribal children. Officials also have been directed to provide necessary drugs to victims of sickle cell anaemia free of cost.