Dev Kumar Sunuwar

DEV KUMAR SUNUWAR
KATHMANDU, AUG 03 –

The government will expand the distribution of Matree Surachhya Chakki (tablets to stop bleeding after child delivery) to women in their eight months of pregnancy to 15 districts where there is little access to health facilities, said an official at Ministry of Health and Population (MoPH).

So far, the tablets are being distributed in six districts — Dang, Sindhuli, Jumla, Doti, Bajhang and Mugu — after the programme yielded positive response in the pilot scheme in Banke district in 2008. The districts where the tablets will be distributed have not been listed yet.

“A large number of women in Nepal still die of excessive bleeding during childbirth as they do not avail of healthcare facilities during pregnancy and delivery,” said Dr. Silu Aryal, Senior Consultant Obstetrician and Gynecologist at the Family Health Division. “Women should take this tablet immediately after delivery. This would at least prevent them from dying due to excessive bleeding, even if they do not visit a hospital.”

She also said that the tablet was not a licence for women to deliver children at home. Women health volunteers will visit every month and counsel pregnant women as to which hospital to go to for safe delivery, what sort of diet to take during pregnancy, among others, and provide this tablet when the women reach eight months of gestation, in case they give birth on way to hospital or at home.

According to Dr. Aryal, a pregnant woman should visit a health facility at least four times – namely, during the fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth month, respectively.

However, according to a report of the MoHP, of the estimated 800,000 pregnant women across the country each year, only 50 percent of them visit health facilities in the fourth month. Further, only 29.4 percent of pregnant women complete the full course of the ante-natal scheme. As a result, at least 2,000 women die every year from pregnancy complications, and every year at least 30,000 infants die before they get to be one month old.

According to the Family Health Division, approximately 75 percent of the deliveries take place at home.

The Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Study (2008-09) undertaken by the Family Health Division of the Department of Health Services shows that maternal mortality and morbidity ratio had come down from 539 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1998 to 281 in 2006 and 229 in 2009. Nepal has to reduce the maternal mortality and morbidity rate to 134 by 2015 to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG).

DEV KUMAR SUNUWAR
KATHMANDU, AUG 01 -

With a view to increase access and provide quality healthcare to the country’s urban poor, the Ministry of Health and Population (MoPH) has readied the National Urban Health Policy (NUHP), beginning this fiscal year.

The five-year policy aimed at providing accessible, affordable and reliable primary healthcare facilities to people living in town was prepared jointly by the Ministry of Local Development and MoPH. Both the Ministries will jointly launch urban-poor-centred programmes as per the policy for the period 2010 to 2014.

Despite the fact that there is the highest concentration of doctors and health facilities, the poor in urban areas are deprived of basic health services, according to Dr. Bhim Singh Tinkari, chief of Primary Health Care Revitalisation Division, under Department of Health Services.

“Therefore, MoHP is introducing this policy to delivery primary health services to poor people in 58-municipalities across the country,” said Dr. Tankari.

He also said that Child Health Division under Ministry of Health and other organisations assisting health services namely World Health Organisation, United Nation Child Fund (UNICEF) had often raised concern for not being able to outreach of immunisation programme among urban poor due to lack of clear policy and structure reaching to them.

As per data provided by MoHP, in 1981, of the total population of the country the urban population was 6.4 percent, whereas the population in 2001 reached 13.9 percent.

Of which 25.2 percent of the total urban population are poor. Similarly, the 45.6 percent of urban households have no sanitary system and 55 percent have no appropriate garbage disposal system.

At least 4.3 million populations of 58 municipalities (15 percent of the total population of the country) including in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, covering 43 districts do not have luxury of receiving preventive and primary health care services provided either free to the rural population, according to official at MoPH.

Under the Free Essential Health Care Services, the government has been providing 40 essential drugs at district hospitals, 32 at health post and 22 at sub-health posts since 2007.

According to NUHP, each ward will have at least an Urban Health Centre and one urban health volunteer. Similarly, the centre will procure free essential drugs as provided in sub-health post in rural areas.

“The services of the centre mainly will focus on poor, marginalised slum population and population living in squatters living across 58 municipalities of the country, emphasising on immunisation, leprosy, polio,” said Dr. Tankari.

Int’l Indigenous Peoples’ Day

DEV KUMAR SUNUWAR
KATHMANDU, AUG 09-

Breaking away from the tradition of marking the International Indigenous Peoples Day with ritualistic cultural parade, Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN), an umbrella body of indigenous peoples, has decided to use the occasion this year to put pressure on the politicians. NEFIN has unveiled a month-long agitation programme to press for the rights of indigenous people in the new constitution. The protests include a nationwide torch rally on Aug. 14 and blockade of all the entry points to the Capital the following day.

“We have now realised that unless we exert pressure on the political leadership and the government to promulgate the constitution on time with the guarantee of the rights of the indigenous people, marking indigenous people’s day is meaningless,” said Raj Kumar Lekhi, chairperson of NEFIN. “Therefore, we decided to stage protests instead of taking out a cultural parade.”

Nepalese indigenous people, who constitute more than 38 percent of the country’s population, fought for social, cultural and religious identity in the past. Now, they are fighting for their rights, said Lekhi.

He added that NEFIN has been demanding full and effective participation of the indigenous peoples in the decision-making processes, besides a guarantee of several other rights.

Government officials, however, say the state has already fulfiled both international obligations and indigenous people’s demands by ratifying the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal Peoples’ Convention 169 on Sept. 14, 2007 and by adopting the UN’s declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the same year. The government, with the coordination with the Ministry of Local Development, has already

prepared a national action plan for the implementation of the ILO Convention 169.

Nevertheless, the implementation remains tall order. Sociologist and indigenous rights activist Krishna Bahadur Bhattachan said, “Although ratification of the international conventions relating to indigenous people’s rights is a welcome step, it would be meaningless unless those commitments made in the international forums are reflected in the country’s constitution and government’s plans and policies.”

If the government fails to transform its pledge into a practice, indigenous people’s peaceful protests could turn violent, he cautioned.

Meanwhile, speaking at a corner meet organised by Association of Nepalese Indigenous Journalists, Lekhhi said indigenous peoples’ movement was to ensure their rights in the constitution.

Addressing the meeting, lawmaker and former NEFIN Chairman Pasang Sherpa said that the existing political deadlock put the issues of backward and excluded groups on the back burner. “Therefore, Madhesi, Dalit, indigenous people have to work in unison to pressurise the political leadership to end the impasse and concentrate on constitution writing,” said Sherpa.

DEV KUMAR SUNUWAR
KATHMANDU, AUG 12 –

The Department of Health under the Ministry of Health and Population is launching a mop-up campaign against polio on Aug. 14 and 15, targeting the children below five years of age in 18 districts, including Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.

Such a move is a sequel to the detection of five polio cases in Mahottari and Rautahat districts this year. This new campaign is the third one in just two weeks.

Such a campaign featuring door-to-door immunisation programme is rolled out when the polio virus starts transmitting quickly among many individuals, according to Rajendra Prasad Ghimire, senior public health officer at immunisation unit under the Department.

Of the total five polio cases recently, one was seen in Mahottari and four in Rautahat. Increasing cases of polio has not only shocked health officials working for its eradication, but also have dampened the government’s commitment to meet its goal to eradicate polio from the country by 2012.

Acting on the call of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the government first had targeted to eradicate polio by 2002, later by 2005 and lastly by 2012.

“But the rapid transmission of the polio viruses has struck the government’s goal to meet the commitment,” said Department’s immunisation programme chief Krishna Bahadur Chand.

On 21 Feb. this year, the first polio case was detected on five-year-and-eight month-old Rameswore Mandal in Mahottari.

Polio cases were also detected on two-year-old Gupharana Khatun of Rautahat on May 4, on two-year-and-two-month-old Priyanka Yadhav on May 29, on eight-month-old Mohamad Sajit of Rautahat on 9 June and on eight-month-old Sanjida Khatun on 12 June.

Following the detection, Nepali and WHO surveillance medical officers as well as medical officers are working days and nights to contain the virus, said Chand.

According to officials, all the five cases had P1 type of polio virus, which is considered less communicable compare to P3 type. While three of the cases were transmitted locally, the remaining were communicated from the Indian state of Bihar due to frequent border movement. Bangkok-based National Institute of Health has also confirmed this.

Earlier to this, all polio cases entered Nepal from bordering Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Of all the three types of polio, P-3 had been detected in the country in 2000. The last original case of P-1 was found in 1999. The P-2 type has been eradicated from Nepal.

When polio viruses were detected the districts had ran out of vaccines. The rapid transmission of the virus has prompted the health department to expand the immunisation programme in 18 districts.

In the first and second rounds of vaccination drive, the Department distributed vaccines only in eight districts—Saptari, Siraha, Sarlahi, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Rautahat, Bara and Parsa.

In the third round, it is distributing vaccines in 10 more districts—Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Chitwan, Makawanpur, Udayapur, Sindhuli, Morang and Sunsari from Aug. 14-15.

POLIO CASES IN NEPAL

Year No. of cases Detected in

1999 2 cases (Type P1) Banke, Saptari

2000 4 cases (Type P3) Siraha, Mahottari, Dhanusa, Rautahat

2005 4 cases (Type P1) Sarlahi, Rautahat

2007 5 cases (Type P3) Siraha, Dhanush

2008 6 cases (Type P3) Rautahat, Sarlahi, Dhanusha, Bajura,

Bardiya, Rupandehi

2010 5 cases (Type P1) Mahottari, Rautahat

Decide to continue with financial support
DEV KUMAR SUNUWAR
KATHMANDU, APR 01 –

Nine major donor agencies, which earlier had suspended financial assistance to a major education project in the country, have decided to continue with their support. Read more…

DEV KUMAR SUNUWAR
KATHMANDU, MAR 22 –

Private schools in Kathmandu Valley have decided to hike the fee by 25.22 percent from this academic year, beginning April 15. Read more…

DEV KUMAR SUNUWAR
KATHMANDU, MAR 20 –

The Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) is all set to scale up the medical abortion (MA) services across the country following the success of a pilot programme in six districts. Read more…

TEXTBOOK PRICE adjustment ROW
DEV KUMAR SUNUWAR
KATHMANDU, MAR 17 –
The row between Janak Education Materials Centre (JEMC) and Ministry of Education (MoE) over price adjustment of school textbooks may leave students across the country sans books when the next academic session begins from April 15. Read more…

DEV KUMAR SUNUWAR
KATHMANDU, MAR 19 –
Boarding and private schools are set to hike their fees by 20 to 35 percent across the country from this acade-mic year beginning April 15. The hike exceeds the government ceiling. Read more…

DEV KUMAR SUNUWAR
KATHAMNDU, Mar 16 –

Private and boarding schools are set to hike school fees by 20 percent across the country from next academic year that starts from April 15. Read more…