Commissioner Tribal Development Jaideep Govind has instructed officers that every department should be sensitive towards primitive tribes and set its priorities in such a way that they get maximum benefit. Govind was reviewing the ongoing development schemes for primitive tribes yesterday at Sheopur. Those present at the meeting included Director Primitive Tribes Group RS Khare, Sheopur collector and various district level departmental heads.

RAIPUR : Faced with a shortage of doctors in rural and Naxalite areas, the Chhattisgarh Government has formulated an action plan to provide special allowances, insurance cover and other perks to medical professionals so as to motivate them to serve in remote villages.

Brazil offered to provide financial and technical assistance to Grameen Healthcare Trust to give better healthcare services to the rural people. The offer came when Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus met with Brazilian Vice Minister of Health at the Health Ministry in Brasilia on June 13, according to a message from Yunus's secretariat. They discussed possible cooperation between Grameen and Brazilian government in the area of healthcare for the poor.

Your money or your lives: sounds like a standard clich

The Central Government-appointed Community Based Monitoring (CBM) Project under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) has come out with a preliminary report on the functioning of health care infrastructure in rural Thane. CBM project is a key to acquiring health rights for the rural population. It was started in April 2007 in five districts of Maharashtra including Thane rural. The report will be discussed with government officials in a public hearing at the zilla parishad level.

The Population Research Centre's latest report on the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme in Chandigarh reveals a stark divide among the consumption patterns of students depending on the type and status of school. Students in the rural government schools tend to consume a full meal as compared to their urban counterparts. This has lead to an increase in the enrollment ratios and improved the retention rates in the rural schools.

Though malaria is yet to strike all parts of Assam in epidemic form, 27 deaths due to the disease have been reported from different parts of the State till date with the hill district of Karbi Anglong being the worst affected with 18 deaths. Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that apart from some parts of Karbi Anglong, there has been no rush of malaria patients in any of the hospitals and health centres of the State. He said that last year, as many as 141 persons died due to the disease and 60 deaths were reported by the end of May.

HOWRAGHAT

Use of soya products can fight malnutrition better in both rural and urban areas as, among protein-rich mushroom, spirulina, soybean and pulses, soybean has 40 per cent protein content and provides cheapest protein, says an expert. ''In Madhya Pradesh, a very large section of population in villages is living below poverty line. They are deprived of affordable nutritious food and their food is lacking protein and fat content,'' the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's former director MS Virdi said.