Health report of ST and Non- ST UPSC NOTE

  Health, Nutrition, and Population trends of Scheduled Tribes (STs) from 2016 to 2021 A recent publish of ‘The Lancet’ provide a detailed a...

 Health, Nutrition, and Population trends of Scheduled Tribes (STs) from 2016 to 2021

• A recent publish of ‘The Lancet’ provide a detailed analysis of the health, nutrition, and population trends of Scheduled Tribes (STs) from 2016 to 2021.

• In report there are persistent disparities between the metrics of ST and non-ST populations, which demand urgent and consistent policy efforts.

• The 2011 Census recorded over 104 million STs spread across 705 recognised ethnic groups.

• STs, who make up 8.6% of India’s population, face health and socioeconomic challenges

• The study offers an overview of the performance metrics for STs, non-STs, 129 health parameters in 2021.

• In 2021, the non-ST population outperformed the ST population in 81 out of 129 indicators.

• STs continued to face challenges Like,

1. Women’s status 

2. Child malnutrition, 

3. Anaemia, 

4. insufficient vaccination coverage

5. Fertility and Mortality rates.

• The 48 indicators on which STs surpassed non-STs include,

1. Overall gender balance

2.  Gender balance at birth

3. Use of family planning methods

4. Consistent treatment during pregnancy

5. Adherence to recommended breastfeeding practices.

• STs showed a reduced occurrence of diabetes and hypertension compared to non-STs.

Measures to be taken for Improvements

• Between 2016 and 2021, the ST population registered improvements in 83 of the selected 129 indicators.

• STs experienced major improvements,

1. Sanitation facilities

2. More Births happened

3. Increase in skilled and healthy persons.

4. Full vaccination coverage among children.

• Progress on various policy metrics concerning population, health, and nutrition hinges on the ability of its marginalized groups, with the STs being a significant segment.