The conclave is a way to energize efforts of all the concerned stake holders under the convening power of the Tribal affairs Ministry and the UNICEF with an aim to improve the nutrition intake of the tribal children in India.
While inaugurating the conclave, Mr. Himirika said, “Progress of our country will remain incomplete without taking the needs and aspirations of the tribal population into account and all-round development is not possible with children being under nourished.”
“It requires continuous effort by many Ministries and Departments working together to deliver the best possible results in case of nourishing the tribal children across the country”, he added
Addressing in the conclave, Lok Sabha MP Baijayant Panda crucially pointed out some cultural aspects of the tribe which tend to malnourishment among tribal children. “Half of the tribal girls get married under the age of 18; and, the underage marriage, early pregnancy and lactation etc deprive the children in getting proper breast feeding.” He critically opined to enforce the marriage law strictly. Another problem, he finds out that the girl children normally take the remaining foods only after the male persons of the family took the food. “Such problems can be solved through social education”, he said.
The discussion among the participants including government bodies, policymakers, academicians, intellectuals, social activities, members of civil society, media persons etc. will certainly catalyze to address the challenges of malnourishment of tribal children across the country.
In addition to the discussion, the conclave also showcased the indigenous agricultural products of tribal people and participation of numbers of NGOs working for the development of the tribes across the country.