On 9th September 2025, InOrder- The Health Systems Institute, in collaboration with Vijayavahini Charitable Foundation (VCF), hosted a Consultation Workshop on “Emerging Priorities in Tribal Health” at Bhubaneswar under our ‘Strengthening Primary Health through Participatory Action Research (SPH PAR)’ Project. Senior government officials, Academia, NGO representatives, UN agencies, and Civil Society Organisations actively participated in this event and contributed to reflecting on the unique challenges and opportunities in the domain of hashtag#tribalhealth.
The dais included Dr. Bijaya Kumar Mohapatra, Special Secretary -Health & Family Welfare Department, Government of Odisha, Dr. N. Krishna Reddy President, InOrder and CEO, ACCESS Health International, Col (Dr) MP Cariappa, Technical Advisor, VCF, Prof. (Dr.) Bhuputra Panda Professor of Public Health, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Bhubaneswar, and Senior Advisor, ACCESS Health International, Dr. Dinabandhu Sahoo Team Lead, SHSRC-NHM, Odisha, Mr. Mantha Venkat Rao, Grant Manager – SPH PAR, VCF and Dr.Shrikant Kalaskar, Project Lead, SPH PAR, InOrder.
Extensive exchange of viewpoints was held on the need for a dedicated tribal health policy framework, the role of technology and informatics in strengthening health systems for tribal health and welfare, evolving government priorities in this domain, and the balance between philanthropy, CSR, and community-led solutions.
We thank all participants from diverse institutions who enriched the discussion with their insightful thoughts. KIIT – Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology and KISS – Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, State Institute of Health and Family Welfare, UNICEF India, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) RMRC, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar, SOA University, Wadhwani AI, Paribartan, RIHA Foundation, and Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3)
