On January 24, 2026, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India,Shri J.P. Nadda Ji visited the ICMR – National Institute of Research in Tribal Health, Jabalpur. During this he visited the institute's laboratories. The innovations under experimentations by the institute were also presented during the laboratory visit.

During the program, the Director In-charge, Dr.Bontha V. Babu, formally welcomed the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri J.P. Nadda, Minister, PWD, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh Shri Rakesh Singh, and Member of Parliament, Govt. of India, Shri Ashish Dubey and other distinguished guests. Thereafter, Dr.Suyesh Shrivastava, Scientist-D, gave a presentation providing information about the institute's activities and research.Information was specifically provided on the research work being done in relation to malaria, sickle cell disease, tuberculosis, leprosy, and other viral diseases.

After being apprised of the institute's activities, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri J.P. Nadda Ji, provided guidance and suggestions to all the scientists and officials present, the key points of which are as follows:
The Minister emphasized the large number of tribal communities residing in India and encouraged the institute to work towards improving their health by studying their cultural and traditional practices, customs, the use of local resourcesincluding indigenous healthcare practices and genetic diversity to address their health problems.

It was observed that there is a need to create more awareness among the tribal communities about modern medical practices so that they can receive better healthcare benefits. The need for regular monitoring in this regard was also emphasized.

 

Although the Government of India is regularly providing health facilities to the general public through the Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (AAM), suggestions have been sought to identify and include problems specific to local and regional conditions in the scheme to make health facilities more effective for the tribal community. There should be components specific to tribal population along with existing twelve services.  

To better understand the health problems of the tribal community and to provide information about the work and research being done by the institute, it was suggested that special workshopsto be organized for local public representatives on routine basis. This process will make it easier to share information about the institute's activities with communities living in remote areas, and the tribal community will be able to benefit more. In addition, there is a need to work on solutions for other complex diseases through inter-departmental and inter sectoral coordination.

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