The health care and practices of indigenous or tribal people are the perceptions and conceptions in their own cultural system, and health treatment was developed through prolong time period out of the rich cultural heritage based on the Indigenous Knowledge system of the local communities with less awareness of the modern health care and resources. They identify the causes as nature-made actions of some planets and believe in the doctrine of supernatural or evil spirits, or human agencies. They have various procedures of treatment viz. folk treatment, religious or preventive, magical or curative procedures and modern medical system. Due to large scale degradation of natural resources and unhygienic condition of their habitation the tribal communities are suffering from a large number of the communicable and parasitic diseases. Hence, the utility of the herbal medicinal species in curing the diseases and maintaining their sound health conditions is well known. Few species are considered to be endangered due to Injudicious and unscientific method of collecting the medicinal plant as reason of destruction.
Tribal communities in general and Primarily Vulnerable Tribal Groups (from now PVTG, erstwhile primitive tribal groups) in particular are highly disease prone. Also they do not have required access to basic health facilities. They are most exploited, neglected, and highly vulnerable to diseases with high degree of malnutrition, morbidity and mortality. Their misery is compounded by poverty, illiteracy, ignorance of causes of diseases, hostile environment, poor sanitation, lack of safe drinking water and blind beliefs, etc.The paper aims to discuss the health care and practices of PVTGs in Madhya Pradesh, analyzing the disease intensities and causes and etiology of disease and also to identify major problems and issues with some suggestions to upgrade the health status of them.
