All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur is recognised as a “Centre of Excellence (COE) for Tribal Health” by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt. In order to address the health needs of the tribal people, a unique centre was conceptualized to holistically approach the health problems and devising a road map to address the gap using modern scientific tools. Therefore, a “Satellite centre
for Tribal Health and Research (STHR)” was established at Janjati Bhavan Abu Road in collaboration with the Tribal Area Development (TAD) Department, Govt. of Rajasthan and MLV Tribal Research & Training Institute, Udaipur and was funded by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt. This centre is a unique initiative in the country with amalgamation of health care services and innovative research for tribal population in a participatory ecosystem whereby tribal people play significant role in navigating their own health issues as stakeholders. The featured initiatives of the centre included free of cost teleconsultation from AIIMS Jodhpur, scientific research on unmet health needs, validation and value addition of traditional healthcare practices, preserving the intellectual property rights of traditional tribal healers for their innovative knowledge and practices, awareness and training programmes in the villages and remote locations regarding prevention and management of prevalent diseases, mother and child health and implementing the tribal population specific health programmes at field level.