Adilabad: Over 150 medicos, 30 doctors join Komaram Bheem Sewa Yatra to serve tribals

Hyderabad: To create awareness about healthcare in the tribal belt, National Medicos Organisation (NMO), Telangana Chapter organised the Komaram Bheem Swastha Seva Yatra at Adilabad in 15 villages. Young medical specialists and junior doctors stayed in tribal accommodation to serve the community.

The Komaram Bheem Sewa Yatra was conducted by the National Medicos Organization and Ekalavya Foundation in the Adilabad district, to provide healthcare services and awareness to tribal communities in 15 villages, including KB Colony, Maleboregav, and Arkapur. This program was attended by 150 medical students from various medical colleges across the state. This serves to educate and serve the tribal people and introduce the young medical graduates to the tribal culture.

The program was conducted to familiarize junior doctors with the village level healthcare requirements. In the past, it has been noticed that junior doctors are unwilling to go and practice in villages as there are 'many hurdles' created for them.

This program was to get junior doctors and also the community to know each other and the benefits of modern medicine and healthcare.

30 doctors and 150 medicos participated

Dr Vijayender, executive member of NMO -Telangana Chapter says, “Medical students, both boys and girls, from First to Final year of 20 colleges from all over Telangana participated. Hyderabad’s medicos were from Osmania, Gandhi Medical College, Mallareddy Institute, and so on. This is the first time that the yatra was conducted in our TS state. But the National Medicos Organization has been conducting such camps in Madhya Pradesh, North East, and other parts of India earlier.”

A team of 150 medicos and 30 doctors from all over Telangana participated in this noble initiative, staying with the tribal people for 2 nights and imparting valuable knowledge on hand hygiene, menstrual hygiene, health habits, lifestyle modification, and dietary habits. They also conducted health screenings, focusing on hypertension and diabetes, benefiting over 500 patients. Medicines were also distributed.

Community support provided

The tribal community provided support to the healthcare fraternity in terms of homestays. There were also interactive sessions with them on the tribal culture and traditions. Every tribal community has its own set of cultures and traditions and the healthcare experts were to understand and familiarize themselves with the same.

Why is close interaction required?

The government has been trying to get junior doctors to work at the village level but there has been resistance from both sides. At the village level, non-medical practitioners have a hold on the community and they don't allow registered doctors to practice. Due to this reason, there are innumerable challenges which have been noted from time to time. Also at the village level, the trust factor has been a concern. To bridge these gaps, these interactive sessions are being organized to familiarize both stakeholders.

The effort saw many from different organizations come together including Samajika Samarasata Vedika's Appala Prasad, Sewa Bharathi Vasu, NMO All India Organizing Secretary Dr.Kumar Angadi, President Dr. Shankar, General Secretary Dr G. Surendra Babu, NMO Organizing Secretary Dr.Srinivas Gundu, Dr.Sai Deep, Rahul, Ekalavya Foundation's Digambhar, and many others. The Ekalavya Team consisted of Rajulavar, Digambar, Muthyam, G Santhosh and Drona.

Lessons learnt

Community service by binding all the stakeholders can impact in a positive manner. This experiment will help the doctors and medical practitioners to come together with the community to provide medical care to village level which is the heart of the medical program.