Sickle-cell anaemia is a blood disorder characterised by an abnormality in haemoglobin that carries oxygen from the lungs to the body parts. It is highest among malaria patients.
"Fifty per cent of the malaria cases in the country have been found among tribals, who constitute only eight per cent of our total population. So we decided to launch a campaign against the disease among the tribal population. We will try to screen six lakh children among the 60-lakh tribal population in Assam. It is a simple test that costs Rs 2-3," Hrusikesh Panda, the secretary of the Union tribal affairs ministry, said here today. The ministry had organised health workshops in six states of the Northeast. Meghalaya and Nagaland will be included later.
Panda said they would give health cards to those tested. This would help prevent the disease to some extent, as they would be able to keep track of and advise those afflicted. He said if two persons having sickle-cell trait marry, the probability of their children having the same disease increases. "We must prevent the disease as it has no treatment yet," he added.
He said teams comprising doctors, auxiliary nurses and midwives (ANMs) and Anganwadi workers would conduct the tests in schools. Dropouts will also be covered to ensure that 100 per cent tribal children between three and 13 years are covered. The programme has also been launched in Gujarat, Odisha, Bengal and other states.
Panda said as part of its employment generation effort, the ministry would launch a project for identification of water bodies with the use of space technology, including satellite imagery. Government engineers and officials of minor irrigation, soil conservation and fisheries the departments will then identify the water bodies where fishery projects can be taken up by the indigenous population under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
The workshop was organised here today and representatives from six northeastern states took part.
ST status
Panda today said reports of the task force constituted for ST status had revealed "historical injustices meted out to tea garden workers in Assam".
Panda, who headed the task force, submitted its report to the Centre in May last year. "They (tea garden workers) were brought from parts of the country to work in tea gardens in Assam, but they had not yet been given tribal status. I don’t want to comment on whether they deserve it or not, but we found historical injustice done to them," he said. Panda, however, did not elaborate on the injustices as revealed in the task force report. "The report is with the ministry," he said.
Apart from tea garden workers, five other communities in Assam – Tai Ahom, Moran, Muttock, Chutia and KochRajbongshi – have been demanding ST status for a long time. The Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram on April 6 said in Kokrajhar that the six communities would be given ST status within six months.