With Kerala government facing the heat over the death of at least four tribal children due to malnutrition in recent weeks, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today asked the Health Minister to visit tribal hub Attappadi in the district for an on-the-spot assessment and taking urgent measures for stepping up healthcare in the areas.
Chandy, who was here to review the drought situation in the district, said the government took the tribal health issue seriously and asked Health Minister V S Sivkumar to visit Attappadi tomorrow. The government would take all necessary steps to address the concerns of the tribal population, he said.
District medical officials have confirmed malnutrition and anaemia as the main cause for the death of at least four children in recent weeks.
However, unconfirmed reports, mostly put out by NGOs, claimed that at least 30 children have died in the last 15 months due to malnutrition in Attappady and adjoining settlements, having the highest concentration of tribal population in Kerala.
The officials themselves admitted a health survey conducted in the area recently has come across as many as 412 cases of anaemia and 67 cases of malnourishment, which required urgent medical attention. The survey had covered over 20,000 individuals in about 6,500 households.
Tribal organisations here have complained of short supply of food articles and medicines in their settlements and the drought situation and enemployment have made life more miserable for large number of families.
