Maharashtra panel urges separate tribal health system, cites gaps

A state-level committee has recommended that Maharashtra create a separate health system for its 10.5 million tribal people, warning that gaps in last-mile delivery, personnel, data, nutrition and emergency care have left the community far behind the state’s overall population on key health outcomes. The report, submitted to the state health department, notes that 58% of tribal children are not fully immunised and that infant and under-five mortality rates remain high in tribal-dominant districts. It calls for a sharp increase in health spending under the Tribal Sub-Plan from the current 3% to 12-15%, which would translate into Rs 1,100-1,500 crore annually.

The committee found that only 65.5% of tribal households have toilets, that health workers in remote areas lack habitable accommodation, and that poor road connectivity leaves many villages unreachable by ambulance. It proposes Health Action Centres to track high-risk pregnancies, a Tribal Disaggregated Public Health Dataset to reveal disparities hidden by district averages, and a comprehensive Tribal Health Report within one year. The health department has constituted a new committee under Nandurbar collector Dr Mittali Sethi to oversee implementation of the recommendations.