The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) plans to fund adhoc projects to scientists of various recognised research institutions (governmental and non-governmental) and medical colleges. The broad areas covered under the research projects will be on the healthcare needs of the tribal people.

The adhoc projects are under tribal sub plan and ICMR has already invited funds for these adhoc research proposals. Tribal health has been long neglected and needs to be given its due attention. According to an ICMR official tribal health is one of the important areas of action in the health sector.

The ICMR study on needs of tribal healthcare is significant as the cases and deaths due to diseases like G-6 PD deficiency, Yaws, and endemic diseases like malaria etc is very high. Adding to this is heterogeneous nature of the tribal population, that leads to wide variations in their health status due to the access and utilisation of health services.

The focus of the new research programme will be to develop a holistic healthcare system that would be able to address the needs of the tribals in India. It has been understood that the tribals in India have suffered for a long time due to lack of access to health care facilities resulting in the increased severity and duration of illnesses. Apart from the lack of healthcare system, there was also problems of social barriers and taboos that prevented the utilisation of available health care services. Thus through this programme ICMR plans not only for an organised healthcare system for this segment of the society but also to make sure that they actually utilises these facilities.

Tribals are the groups that retained their ethnic identities and did not assimilate into the ‘general’ population. They were later accorded constitutional recognition as scheduled tribes. Reasons like poverty, lack of proper sanitation, hygiene, clean water etc. led to a poor standard of leaving resulting in increased morbidity and vector-borne infections.

ICMR's research programme is to address this problems and provide better healthcare for the tribals. The ICMR has already invited proposals from the scientists for the research projects.