KATHMANDU, Dec 27: Coverage by health programs in the municipalities is very poor compared to VDC in the remote districts, data provided by the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) shows.
Poor health infrastructure, a floating population and inadequate manpower in the health service are considered to be major reasons for the problem. [break]
According to data with the District Public Health Office (DPHO) in Kathmandu, a huge population in the metropolis is excluded from health programs launched by the government. It shows that 73 percent of the population in one ward of Kathmandu metropolis was excluded from the anti-elephantitis drive lunched last year.
The DPHO says that only 27 percent of the people of Ward No. 20 participated in the campaign. Similarly, 71 percent of people in Ward No. 28 was excluded from the drive.
Seventy-four percent of people in Ward 26 did not received any medicine in the campaign. Only 30 percent in Ward 19 had participated in the campaign. Likewise, 55 percent of the population of Ward 30 did not take the medicine.
The report shows that 34 percent of the population of Ward 8 participated in the campaign last year. The DPHO says that people in core areas of the city like Ason, Indrachowk andNew Road seem reluctant to take medicine from the campaign.
Ward 15 had a 100 percent coverage record. But Director of the Division, Dr Shyam Raj Upreti, said, “The actual populations living in the municipalities are double the government estimates; so we should not rely on the study showing 100 percent coverage”. He said that the coverage in municipalities is far below that of the villages for every health program launched.
The Child Health Division (CHD) under MoHP also concedes that the government does not have records of the actual number of people living in Kathmandu metropolis. Since years back, the ministry used to launch health programs in Kathmandu metropolis for a target population of 1.3 million. Dr Upreti further said that coverage by other regular health programs and immunization drives is also low in the municipalities.
The CHD says that Kathmandu metropolis, Lalitpur and Birgung sub-metropolises and Bhaktapur and Nepalgung municipalities have a very poor coverage record.
Kathmandu metropolis has 21 urban health clinics in 35 wards. The capacity of the urban health clinic is similar to that of the sub-health posts. “The government does not have health centers in the municipalities,” Director Upreti added.
The health department chief of the metropolis, Dr. Baburam Gautam, also concedes that the coverage by health programs is poor in the metropolis. “We have found a case in which all six children of one family had not had any kind of vaccine administered to them,” he said.
The awareness programs lunched by the metropolis also do not seem effective in the metropolis. The health workers of the metropolis do not have access in slum settlements. They complained that inhabitants of the metropolis do not open their door to them to administered the drugs.
Chief of CHD Dr Upreti said that the ministry is coordinating with the municipalities to improve the health status of municipality inhabitants. He said the ministry has already allocated a budget to recruit additional health workers and build public health clinics.