THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the Covid vaccination drive among migrants is dismally low in the state, a study on ‘In-migration, Informal Employment and Urbanisation in Kerala’, sponsored by State Planning Board (Evaluation Division), has found that 55.6% of them are suffering from major diseases like diabetes, blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, HIV-AIDS, cancer, limb injuries due to accidents and depression.
Another 13.5% reported that they have suffered from minor diseases like common seasonal cold, fever, headache, viral fever, malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya, leptospirosis, stomach pain, abdominal cramps, dysentery and diarrhoea, while 31% did not have any illness during the preceding 365 days of the date of the primary survey.
Job uncertainty, high unemployment rate, and low surplus earning or saving due to high cost of living in Kerala are among the major reasons for growing incidence of major diseases among migrants, apart from their medical and biological factors, the study shows.
While the poor living environment causes minor diseases, chronic conditions like diabetes, blood pressure, cardiovascular problems and depression common among migrant workers are a cause for concern for them as well as the state. The survey also estimated that the total number of other-state migrants in Kerala is 31.4 lakh during 2017-18, while the 2013 study by the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT) had estimated it to be 25 lakh.
The new study has not covered the footloose labourers due to their floating nature, but they are a sizeable population in the state. Dr K Ravi Raman, State Planning Board member and co-principal investigator of the study, said, “The study was conducted before the Covid outbreak and there would be changes in their numbers in the state now. But their health issues and the data regarding their quality of life in Kerala are an eye-opener for the state.
“Further, we estimate that the number of migrants would increase even in the post-Covid years as Kerala is one of the best states in the country which offer quality life and better wages. The study is also part of ensuring their living standard as the state lacks a proper database on migrants.” The study also estimated that the state would have a migrant population between 45.7 lakh and 47.9 lakh by 2025, and 55.9 lakh and 59.7lakh by 2030 as per the current rate of migration to the state.
