National Capacity Building Programme for Tribal Healers in Hyderabad | 20 Jan 2026

Why in News? 

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched a National Capacity Building Programme for Tribal Healers in Hyderabad, Telangana. 

Key Points 

• Launch venue: The Programme for Tribal Healers was held in January 2026 at Kanha Shanti Vanam, Hyderabad, to enhance tribal health services. 
• Addressed by: The event was addressed by Jual Oram, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs. 
• Objective: The programme aims to 
  • Recognise and engage tribal healers as collaborative partners in public health outreach and tribal health transformation. 
  • Strengthen last-mile health service delivery in geographically and culturally isolated tribal regions. 
  • Eliminate communicable diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and leprosy in tribal areas. 
• National Tribal Health Observatory: A MoU with ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar was signed to establish India’s first Bharat Tribal Health Observatory (B-THO) under Project DRISTI for tribe-disaggregated health data and research. 
• Project DRISTI: A national initiative by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in collaboration with ICMR to create a tribe-disaggregated health information system. 
  • Aimed at improving healthcare planning, disease monitoring, and policy decisions for tribal populations. 
• Bharat Tribal Health Observatory (B‑THO): A first-of-its-kind national health observatory established under Project DRISTI. 
  • To collect, analyse, and share health data of tribal communities, integrate tribal healers into the health system, and support disease prevention and research in tribal areas.