ITANAGAR, 9 Jul: As an innovative initiative towards improving tribal health in the state, tribal health collaborative Anamaya and the Tani Riders on Sunday decided to “partner towards social change, health awareness and increasing cultural competency,” Anamaya informed in a release on Sunday.
Kaling Dabi and Madhu Raghavendra from Anamaya’s Centre of Excellence (Culture), met representatives of the Tani Riders, which is “one of the pioneer bike riders’ groups of Arunachal which not only aims
to spread brotherhood and communal harmony but also has engaged with public health initiatives such as blood donation camps and anti-drug awareness programmes in the past,” the release said.
“Anamaya is a multi-stakeholder initiative of the ministry of tribal affairs, health and family welfare, supported by Piramal Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that aims to improve health and wellbeing of tribal populations.” it informed.
“As the Tani Riders are an amalgamation of individuals who come from various walks of life but travel extensively across Arunachal and the Northeast, it provides a unique opportunity to sensitise them to public health challenges like eradication of tuberculosis by 2025, TB Harega, Desh Jitega andolan, and also build cultural sensitivity among them, so that they can spread the message and raise awareness through their trips to remote regions of the state,” it added.
“Indigenous culture and health are interconnected. Innovative collaborations with bike rider groups like this will pave a new way to improve behavioural change communication in public health and create a community space for indigenous food, culture, identities, and their relationships with their environment, among many things,” the release said.
