The ordinance strong-arms the act with the clause that whosoever attacks an on-duty healthcare professional is liable to be imprisoned for three years or may face a fine up to NPR 300,000. The perpetrator may face both the fines, as per the ordinance.

The ordinance goes on to propose the same punishments for offenses which include perpetrators picketing or vandalizing any health institution.

The ordinance sought to address the healthcare professional’s demand for the imprisonment of the perpetrators who violate the act. Various conditions have been carved into the ordinance to deny bail.

The council of ministers recommended this ordinance as people are often attacking healthcare professionals citing healthcare failures due to purported negligence. The Presidential sign-off is aimed at putting a check on these wanton acts.

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As the latest reports say, the number of TB patients is growing by 3,500 with each passing year, throwing an immense scenario for the district health authorities in tackling the menace.

As per the data, Darchula (185), followed by Achham (183), Dadeldhura (176), Baitadi (163), Bajhang (133), Doti (112) districts reported rise in TB patients in the last fiscal year.

The Sudurpaschim Health Directorate has some shocking revelations, which show:

• Around 3200-3500 cases are reported each year in the province
• Every 174 out of 100,000 people have been infected with TB in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts in the last fiscal year
• Women and Children are more prone

While this is the situation, TB and leprosy inspector Manoj Ojha say that they are unable to control the disease, despite strict measures.

“Patients also suffer a relapse. This is the major challenge facing us in containing the disease,” says Ojha, adding that they couldn’t cure around 90 percent of the affected population.

As the reports say, public in Godawari, Basauti, Tikapur and Masuriya are among the most vulnerable to the disease spread.

Government has been offering free treatment and medicinal facilities to the affected urging them to take treatment under the direct supervision of health workers.

Currently, there are 54 TB treatment centres in seven hilly regions and 50 centres of the Kailali and Kanchanpur districts.

 “A majority of patients complain that they are unable to take medicines regularly as they have to go to the health facilities for that,” says Khemraj Joshi, a person at Seti Zonal Hospital.

Read More:

• World Polio Day 2018: Nepal, A Polio-free Nation!
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The post Tuberculosis on Rise in Sudurpaschim of Nepal appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

Nepal’s Province. 2 has been identified as the ideal site for the upcoming project as the region is not equipped with the required cancer-treatment services and infrastructure.

The institute will be established at a cost of USD 7 million within  four years period and envisages to treat around 20,000 people from both Nepal and India, annually. The estimated amount will cover construction, equipment, training and other related costs.

The local government will assist the establishment through monetary support although a major chunk of its funding will come from Binaytara Foundation.

The Current Scenario
Due to lack of facilities within the region, people have to go all the way to the capital city Kathmandu which is a 10-hour drive from Ramgopalpur. Furthermore, factors like culture and lack of finances obstruct these patients from making this ‘life-changing move’.

In such a situation, most of the patients in the region do not get treated or come to know about their illness at a critical time when no treatment is possible, says Binaytara Foundation President Dr. Binay Shah.

“Many patients would hardly visit a doctor. There aren’t adequate cancer services in the region.” says Dr. Shah

Roadmap for the Future

• The first step in the process of setup will be starting preventive oncology services, developing hospice and providing palliative treatment
• A doctor has already been appointed for hospice management and provision of palliative care
• Also, the goal of setting up a laboratory and providing radiology services has to be completed by the end of 2018

Current Progress
Dr. Shah has been visiting Nepal to ensure that things move at the expected pace. In mid-June, he met with Ramgopalpur mayor, several other politicians and physicians in the region.

The city of Ramgopalpur honored Dr. Shah’s visit with a free health camp for its citizens. The two-day camp witnessed a participation of 600 people who were treated by Dr. Shah and three other physicians.

Out of the 600 patients that attended the camp, Shah identified 15 cancer victims.

Binaytara Foundation – India initiative
Earlier in February 2018, the Binaytara Foundation established a similar center in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Like Ramgopalpur, people in Janakpur also suffered due to lack of a comprehensive institute.

The institutive serves as a training center for nurses and doctors who have further expanded their services in the rest of the region.

Also Read:

• Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology Gets Rs. 100 Million Grant

The post Nepal’s New Cancer Institute Underway! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

The World Health Organization (WHO) validated this in its recent announcement calling this as a milestone achievement for the country. Nepal “becomes the first in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to defeat the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness”.

WHO South-East Asia Regional Director Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh and WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Geneva, Switzerland handed over an acknowledgment letter of validation to the Nepali Minister of State for Health and Population Padma Kumari Aryal as part of the World Health Assembly.

Applause for Governance

Officials had a round of applause on Nepal for this ground-breaking achievement of dealing out with the disease of concern.

The Government of Nepal involving the Minister of State for Health and Population, the Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation and the Ministry of Education, supported by the strong commitment of local health workers and volunteers drew deserved focus for their efforts on this achievement.

Nepal’s Years of Efforts: An Example of Public-Govt Commitment

Nepal has really come a long way for finally dealing out with the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness. The struggle dates back to the 1980s when Trachoma was the second leading cause of preventable blindness in Nepal.

Stepping up the efforts, the Government of Nepal took a serious initiative in 2002 by establishing the national trachoma program for the complete elimination of the disease. As part of this effort supported by sustained control activities, the country could see the prevalence of active (inflammatory) trachoma fall by 40 percent during 2002-05.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education also proved its significant role in taking the program to the next level by spreading awareness across the nation while also proposing the inclusion of a module on trachoma in the school curriculum.

As part of control activities, the Ministry of Water Supply and Sanitation played crucial by supporting the local communities and districts with the necessary incentives required for building basic infrastructure facilities that improve sanitation and control disease-carrying flies.

The mission to fight trachoma also involved activities across the country.

• Nearly 30 000 operations were conducted to manage trichiasis
• More than 15 million doses of azithromycin were distributed with the help of NNJS supported by the United States Agency for International Development-funded ENVISION project implemented by RTI International under the International Trachoma Initiative
• Overall, the country saw the establishment of eye hospitals and dozens of eye centers and clinics with trained staff between 2002 and 2014

As a result, a series of health surveys conducted progressively during 2005-15 proved the falling rate of active trachoma in children below the elimination prevalence threshold. Low prevalence after the discontinuity of mass antibiotic treatment was also observed.

Global Efforts

The efforts to fight trachoma took a serious turn in 1998 when the World Health Assembly resolved to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem globally.

Since then, the world nations began striving for significant progress in this path and an increasing number of endemic countries eventu

ally started meeting targets for national elimination of trachoma as a public health problem.

WHO has been in the forefront in taking ahead the initiative on a global scale. As part of its efforts, WHO launched the WHO Alliance for the Global Elimination of Trachoma by 2020 (GET 2020).

Under this initiative, WHO stepped up efforts to support country-wise implementation of the SAFE (Surgery for trichiasis, Antibiotics to clear infection, Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement to limit transmission) strategy and strengthening of national capacity through epidemiological assessment, monitoring, surveillance, project evaluation and resource mobilization.

Significant Events in Nepal’s Fight Against Trachoma from 1978 to 2018

Source: WHO South-East Asia

In 2014, Dr. Khetrapal Singh identified the elimination of neglected tropical diseases as one of the flagship priority programmes across the globe. As a result, the countries in the region including Nepal continued their concerted efforts and Nepal eventually emerged as the first one in the region to fully eliminate the disease nationwide.

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