Food Culture, Nutritional Status and Health-Care Accessibility of the Kukis of Manipur
By Ruth Nengneilhing
The paper studies the quality of life and health of a conflicted affected population by taking the case of the Kukis of Manipur in the aftermath of the 1990s’ Kuki-Naga ethnic conflict. The clash resulted in the uprooting of hundreds of villages with the loss of more than 1,000 lives and enormous internal displacement. Conflicts have often resulted in various forms of infectious diseases in epidemic forms resulting in high rate of mortality among the affected population. The objective of this paper is to study the quality of life and health of the conflict affected Kuki population in three selected sites: Chavangphai, Gelnel and Tujang Vaichong. The determinants of health that are taken in the study are food culture, nutritional status and accessibility to health care facilities. It takes into account the health indicators such as height, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI) and mortality rates.