Tribal Health Summit: Eco India, a non-profit trust dedicated to improving healthcare outcomes in India through capacity building, partnered with AIIMS Deoghar, a premier medical institute in the country, to host a nationwide summit on Tribal Health Is. The summit brought together experts, policy makers and stakeholders to discuss the challenges faced by tribal communities in accessing quality healthcare and explore possible solutions.
The summit included a distinguished panel of speakers, including Arjun Munda, Minister of Tribal Affairs, Government of India; Dr. A.S. (Prof.) N.K. Arora, President, AIIMS Deoghar; Dr. A.S. (Prof.) Saurabh Varshney, Executive Director and CEO, AIIMS Deoghar; Colonel Kumud Rai, Chairman and Managing Trustee of Eco India.
Expressing his support for the summit, Tribal Health Minister Arjun Munda said, “The government is committed to ensuring that all citizens, including those from tribal communities, have access to quality healthcare. I am happy to see that Eco India and AIIMS Organizations like Deoghar are taking steps to address the challenges faced by these communities.”
The summit included panel discussions on topics such as improving access to healthcare in remote tribal areas, removing cultural barriers to healthcare, and leveraging technology to improve healthcare outcomes.
AIIMS Deoghar President Dr. (Prof.) N.K. Arora said, “As a premier medical institute in the country, AIIMS Deoghar is committed to improving the health and well-being of all communities, including tribal communities. We are delighted to partner with ECO India to host this important event.” .
Dr. Saurabh Varshney, Executive Director, AIIMS Deoghar, said, “At AIIMS Deoghar, we understand that tribal communities have long faced significant challenges in accessing healthcare. The unique cultural and geographical characteristics of these communities often make healthcare difficult. Create barriers to access, resulting in poor health outcomes. Through this nationwide summit, we aim to identify innovative solutions that can improve healthcare access and outcomes for tribal communities across the country. We look forward to collaborating with other experts and stakeholders to develop sustainable strategies that address the root causes of these challenges and pave the way for better health outcomes for tribal communities. “
Dr Varshney also highlighted that AIIMS Deoghar, as part of Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan, has adopted five tribal villages and is conducting health promotion activities using telemedicine services.
AIIMS faculty is conducting research on tribal health to identify gaps and opportunities for health promotion and have submitted 14 research proposals for approval and funding to Ministry of Tribal Affairs, including Center of Excellence in Sickle Cell Disease . AIIMS Deoghar is also setting up a satellite center to expand its reach and cater to the needs of the surrounding tribal population.
According to Dr. Col. Kumud Rai, President, ECO India, “As an organization, we are committed to improving health care outcomes for all through capacity building, especially for the disadvantaged such as tribal communities. Policy By leveraging the expertise of manufacturers, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders, we hope to create a roadmap for improving healthcare access and outcomes for tribal communities, and ultimately help create a more equitable healthcare system in India We do.”
The summit proved to be an insightful and informative platform to discuss the current status of healthcare in tribal areas and to explore new ways to enhance healthcare outcomes for these marginalized communities. Expert panellists from states with large tribal populations, including Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, shared their valuable inputs, which will be incorporated into a detailed report to prepare a roadmap for enhancing health outcomes in tribal communities.
About Eco India
Eco India is a non-profit trust established in 2008 with a mission to promote equity in healthcare and education. The organization achieves this goal by providing capacity building programs for health professionals and educators. Eco India’s innovative ‘Hub and Spoke’ learning model involves a team of experts acting as a Hub, mentoring and training the Spokes, a group of learners. This approach is facilitated through state-of-the-art digital infrastructure that enables scalable and sustainable capacity building in a cost-effective manner.
Eco India aims to impact the lives of 400 million people in India by the end of 2025. To achieve this goal, in collaboration with our partners, we have launched over 250 hubs and implemented 800 capacity-building programs that cover over 30 disease areas. , These programs have seen an attendance of over one million health workers and teachers across the country, with remarkable results.
The ‘All Teach All Learn’ framework of the ECHO model has been proven effective and validated by over 500 peer-reviewed articles published in renowned national and international journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet.
Eco India has tied up with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and 28 State National Health Missions (NHMs), Municipal Corporations, Nursing Councils and reputed medical institutions across India. Some of our key institutional partners include AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences), NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences), NITRD (National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases), NICPR (National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research). , Tata Memorial Hospital, and PGIMER (Postgraduate Institute for Medical Education and Research). By collaborating with these institutions, Eco India is taking important steps towards strengthening the healthcare system of the country.