Tribal collective seeks wider study into infant deaths in Keralam’s Attappady

Thampu tribal collective convener K.A. Ramu meeting Health Minister K. Muraleedharan in Attappady on Saturday.

The Thampu tribal collective has urged the State government to address the social, cultural and economic causes of increasing infant deaths in Attappady, arguing that years of health-care interventions and spending of nearly ₹500 crore have failed to stop the deaths of 124 children reported between 2012 and 2026.

The tribal group has called for a new approach that addresses the social, cultural and economic factors behind the deaths, along with enhanced health-care measures.

A delegation led by Thampu convener K.A. Ramu met Health Minister K. Muraleedharan during the latter’s visit to Attappady on Saturday, and demanded a comprehensive scientific study and a separate assessment of the social causes of infant deaths.

The collective said the continued deaths raised questions about the effectiveness of existing interventions. It sought a two-phase action plan to identify the causes and address them.

It also called for clear answers on recurring health problems, including heart conditions, breastfeeding-related complications and low birth weight. Some tribal babies weigh only 700 to 1,400 grams at birth, it pointed out.

The collective said the loss of tribal communities’ traditional relationship with their land had affected their social and cultural practices. It called for the settlement of land issues and the implementation of rights guaranteed under the Forest Rights Act.

Lack of awareness about government schemes was another concern. Although 24 departments implement welfare programmes, many tribal families do not know about the services available to them. Mr. Ramu called for awareness campaigns in tribal languages.

Many families also spend around ₹400 on auto fares to collect their free ration. The collective sought mobile ration shops to serve remote settlements and better delivery of services by the Scheduled Tribes Development department.

It also raised concerns about children being turned away from Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres due to a shortage of beds. The government should allocate funds to address the shortage, it said.

Other demands included strengthening Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), preventing the loss of welfare benefits due to the facial recognition system (FRS), recruiting staff from local tribal settlements and improving anaemia monitoring.

The collective also called for maternal and child health and nutrition awareness programmes in tribal languages. It sought representation for tribal organisations in hospital management committees and monitoring committees.

Thampu demanded the release of expenditure details and statistics on the ₹490 crore spent on efforts to reduce infant deaths in Attappady. Manju Pattimalam and Selvaraj accompanied Mr. Ramu.