Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Director General Dr Soumya Swaminathan has expressed the need for conducting new researches on tribal health.
"There is a need for coming together of institutes like ICMR, other government agencies and voluntary organisations working in the field of tribal health and learning the experiences from each other," Swaminathan said after inaugurating a national workshop on 'The Best Practices in Tribal Health Care' at SEARCH NGO's premises here recently.
The living standard of the tribals is changing fast, and hence non-communicable diseases are also increasing among them, she noted.
A research programme will be taken up by the research wing of the government to chalk out programmes and policies for tribal health, said Swaminathan, who is also the Secretary, Department of Health Research (Ministry of Health & Family Welfare).
This is the first national workshop on tribal health in the last 60 years of Independence and organised in the tribal district, she stated.
National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) Director Limatula Yaden and Dr Abhay Bang, Chairman of the government's expert group on tribal health, were present on the occasion.
Doctors and health researchers from different parts of the country participated in the three-day workshop which is concluding today.
