KATHMANDU, June 16: The Ministry of Health and Population has directed the health institutions not to carry out any activities to identify the gender of babies in pregnant women. 

Under Secretary at MoHP Yekdev Khanal has written to the government, private and community health institutions to avoid sex-selective ultrasound. The MoHP has said that such an act was punishable and that those involved in such acts will have to serve three months to one year in jail. 

The MoHP has also directed the health institutions and laboratories to paste such information at their premises.      

The MoHP's circulation to the health institutions comes as the recently released report of the National Housing and Population Census, 2021 showed imbalances on sex ratio of newborns in the country. In recent years, the number of newborn boys is higher compared to the girls mostly due to sex-selective fetus abortion, which is a crime in the eyes of law.

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