Tribals to be screened for genetic disorder

Most tribals found suffering from sickle cell anaemia, says study

With the prevalence of sickle cell anaemia more among tribal communities than any other communities in the country, the Central government has initiated measures to tackle the same, said Ashok Pai, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, here on Sunday.

He was speaking at a training programme on ‘Sickle Cell Anaemia and Water Bodies’, organised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India; Tribal Welfare Department, Government of Karnataka and Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute, Mysuru.

He said that the government has plans to screen tribal children for the genetic disorder. The tribal population in the country is about 10.5 crore, of which 30 per cent are children. Therefore, a total of three crore children require to be screened for the disease.

Training

The process of training officials of health and tribal welfare departments for the project has been initiated, he said.

After screening the children and identifying those suffering from anaemia, tribal communities will be created awareness regarding the perils of marrying two persons with the same condition. Inter-breeding within tribal communities is one of the causes, he said.

Pai instructed participating officials to chalk out an action plan for the purpose.

The Indian Council of Medical Research too has extended support for the same and have devised a simple chemical test that would ascertain whether a child has the disease, he said.

Apart from sickle cell anaemia, instances of malaria among tribal communities are more, which also need to be curbed, he said. 

Satellite imagery

He said that the ministry will take help from satellite imagery to map water bodies in tribal and remote areas of the country. It will be used to identify and start works for improvement and rejuvenation of water bodies. Funds allocated for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will be used to divert water to such water bodies, which would ensure water security and also a source of income for the communities, he said.