Officials at the DPHO said that they have asked the DDC to develop health infrastructures in all wards of metropolis. Out of 35 wards in KMC, only 27 have urban health clinics. Such centers provide free health services to patients, but the officials say that the centers have failed to function properly. [break]
"I have recommended the DDC to build health centers in all wards of the metropolis," Srikrishna Bhatta, chief of Kathmandu DPHO, said. He said that the office has also asked the department of Health Services (DoHS) to support the KMC to hire medical doctors at such centers.
According to Bhatta, very few people are aware of free health services provided by the metropolis, and due to that a lot of people have been deprived of basic health care facilities. Heath workers complained that people are also reluctant to receive services from the centers. "The nature of the services required in the KMC is different from the VDCs. So we have to upgrade it," he added.
With the increase in migration of people to the metropolis from other districts, there has been a significant rise in the number of people who fall in the category of poor. The metropolis said out of total population residing in the metropolis, about 25 percent fall below the poverty line. "Such people have been deprived of basic healthcare facilities," said Dr Baburam Gautam, chief of KMC´s health department. Dr Gautam said that urban health clinics have been serving poor people, who do not have access to big hospitals and nursing homes.
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