Little after six years of a deadly epidemic that claimed more than 230 lives, Jajarkot is dying once again. As of today, at least 24 people have lost their lives, and hundreds more are on the verge of dying from the H1N1 outbreak. A 26-day-old child has also succumbed. She need not have died.
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Neighboring Rukum district and its villages are living in fear of the spread of the epidemic. It appears Singha Durbar is too busy mourning a Panchayat-era authoritarian prime minister, who did nothing to help improve lives in places like Jajarkot during his five separate stints in that high office.
Jajarkot district is sparsely populated and it has more than 900 small hamlets in clusters that are far from one another. A survey indicates that over 80 percent of the people have to walk at least three hours to access the barest minimum in health services. For a district that is so vulnerable to deadly epidemics, why is it that more than 60 posts for health professionals are still lying vacant there?
Singha Durbar has learned nothing from the 2009 tragedy in Jajarkot. The health posts there are empty, without the needed medicines and the manpower. Minister for Health Khagaraj Adhikari was too "busy" to let his helicopter wait for the blood samples that needed to be flown to Kathmandu for testing. Adhikari is also in all-out war with the media for the "fear and hype" it is creating over the situation. Prime Minister Koirala has not been able to squeeze in a day to visit the ravaged district and see for himself the operations on the ground, or lack thereof. More importantly, the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD) says they do not have enough funds to provide the medical attention that Jajarkot is crying out for.
The response so far has been dismal. Jajarkot is too far from Kathmandu. We do not feel the pain here. For the state, Jajarkot does not figure in the convoluted politicking that takes place inside the walled compounds of the capital. The outcry over a single but sensational crime in Kathmandu reverberates in the corridors of power. But we have no one to vent outrage over Jajarkot.
Dr. Sameer Mani Dixit worked closely with health professionals during the 2009 epidemic. He remembers some doctors using intravenous fluids to keep themselves alive while they went about treating the patients. The lack of essential supplies -- tents, food, water -- for the emergency team added to the chaos. Rajeev Bikram Shah, the CA member from Jajarkot-2, is tired of running from one department to another in the hope of sending the needed medical and health professionals to his district promptly.
This is not the first time that we have found the government stone deaf when a major crisis strikes a village outside Kathmandu Valley. The snail-pace relief and recovery efforts during the 2014 earthquake in Taplejung, the countless number of massive fires in the Terai, and annual floods and landslides across the country are witness to the state's incompetence and its insensitivity towards its most vulnerable populations.
We have to deploy teams of experts to every VDC and village, and reach out to those in agony in Jajarkot's remotest hamlet. We need to use every available means of communication- mobile phones, radio, TV, pamphlets, local groups- to spread the message of hygiene and calm the locals. Bring in experts from around the globe if need be. We spend millions to send one octogenarian politician for the best possible medical treatment in the United States. We are definitely capable of gathering the resources to help people in dire need. We have to make sure that they feel Singha Durbar is working 24/7 to help them.
Countless NGOs and INGOs that have set up shop in the Western and the Far-Western Regions are nowhere to be seen during this ongoing crisis. One often wonders about the efficacy of such outfits, especially in a time of urgency. If they cannot benefit people when needed, why are we being duped by their 'service to the people' type of slogans that we often hear at Kathmandu's fancy seminars? We are receiving reports of NGOs unwilling to take the risk of helping out in Jajarkot. While this would be laughable if it were not so serious, we must not forget that these organizations are more intent on perpetuating the status quo so that they can continue to enjoy their careers and perks in Kathmandu.
We enjoy cosmetic reforms. Our lip service to humongous problems placates immediate anger towards the state. However, the frustrations accumulate over time, and will explode before we realize what is happening here in Kathmandu. Failure to look into the systemic problems of the health infrastructure in Jajarkot after the 2009 crisis has now visited a new emergency there, and possibly deadlier than before.
Let us not forget that the Ebola crisis in Liberia started in a small village, far from its capital. It was only after four months of the outbreak that Monrovia, the capital, reported its first Ebola victim. Ultimately, the virus engulfed the entire country-- taking the lives of 10,600 and infecting more than 25,000. Ebola eroded much of the socio-economic gains the country had made after the end of its conflict in 2003.
If the past is any guide, it is mostly dalits and janajatis who are most affected by a crisis like the one in Jajarkot. We have to resolve never to let such crises engulf our people again. Let this be the last time. Let us pray that Jajarkot does not become the spark for a fire that engulfs the land, and that the people who weild power in Kathmandu also feel the pain before it's too late!
