Doctors and health experts suggested to the party to adopt a policy that would expand the role and responsibility of state toward public health service.
While presenting separate papers, Dr Banshidhar Mishra and Dr Shyam Raj Joshi emphasized on the state´s role in ensuring free and accessible health facilities to the common people.
“The state´s duty and role should be expanded. A mixed state-cooperative model should be promoted. The private and not-for-profit health services should be strictly directed by state polices,” said Mishra at a function organized by the UML´s health department. He stressed on the need for state to provide free basic health services, ensure maternal and pediatric health rights. [break]
Regmi underscored the need for state to take complete responsibility of public health services. “The state must take responsibility of the health services of all citizens,´ he said in his paper. While describing Cuba´s health system as a better model practiced in the world, Regmi argued that some of the health indicators in Cuba are better than in the United States and other socialist countries.
“The mixed government- cooperative model can be adopted till the state can ensure total free health services to all the citizens,” he said. He was of the view the state policies should focus on providing health services to poor communities and the private to those who can afford treatment. “But the non-government sectors must be totally guided and directed by the state,” he said.
He said that as medicine is the major part of treatment, the government should invest in manufacturing medicines within the country. “If it is not possible, the state should purchase medicines directly from the drug producers and distribute it at cheaper prices,” he said.
He urged the policymakers to discourage the trend of formulating health policies as per the interest and direction of foreign donors.
Binod Bindu Sharma, director of Regional Training Center Pokhara, underscored the need for ensuring medicines, basic health services and adequate human resources to far-flung villages.
He urged the political parties to adopt a policy that would make it mandatory to run at least one well-equipped clinic, a birthing center and a laboratory in each village across the country, provide free medicines and depute well-trained doctors and health workers in the rural areas. Stating that maternal mortality is high in the rural areas, he said, “The state should ensure free total health services to women during the last week of pregnancy.”
During the interaction, senior doctors including Arjun Karki, Bharat Pradhan, Madhav Dahal and Ritu Raj Gadtaula offered their suggestions to the party committee.
Yogesh Bhattarai, head of UML´s health department, said the party will incorporate the doctors´ suggestions in the election manifesto as well as in the party´s health policy.
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