New Delhi, Feb 20: The Ayush Ministry on Tuesday announced that it will launch a national level project of health screening and management through ayurvedic interventions that will benefit over 20,000 tribal students.

The project, to be launched here on Wednesday by Union Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda, aims at screening the general health condition, with special focus on anaemia, haemoglobinopathies, malnutrition and tuberculosis, of the students enrolled in Classes 6 to 12.

The screening will be carried out in selected 55 Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) spread across 14 states of the country.

EMRSs impart quality education to Scheduled Tribes (ST) children in remote areas.

Tribal health in India is still an area of concern after more than seven decades of independence. Despite commendable efforts, there are several obstacles that hinder the successful delivery of healthcare services to these underserved populations.

The tribal population of the country, as per 2011 census, is 10.43 crore, constituting 8.6 per cent of the total population; 89.97 per cent of them live in rural areas and 10.03 per cent in urban areas.

The project will also inculcate healthy lifestyle practices among students as per the principles of ayurveda. An integrated approach will also be made for the management of the diseases, the Ministry said.

The intervention will be carried out by the 16 peripheral units of Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), under the Ayush Ministry and the ICMR-National Institute of Research in Tribal Health, Jabalpur in collaboration with Tribal Affairs Ministry.

/IANS