Scarcity of medicines in Dadeldhura

DADELDHURA, July 2: Patients in Dadeldhura are forced to go to neighboring districts and India in lack of medicines at the health centers.



The government has a policy of providing 25 different medicines at health posts, but many health centers like Atital sub-health post in the district does not even have the essential zinc pills for children and iron pills for women for long. [break]



“Zinc pills can´t be found even in the district hospital,” Dharam Singh Bohara of Jogbuda-4, Sandani says.



Atilal sub health post says that other medicines have finished two months ago. Similarly, the only primary health center of the district´s inner Tarai at Jogbuda, and Parigaun and Sandani sub health posts also face scarcity of medicines.



Assistant health worker at the Atilal sub health post Dhan Bahadur Chhetri says that numerous visits to the district hospital for medicines have been fruitless. “They say the medicines are finished when we place our orders,” Chhetri says.



The policy of providing essential medicines free of cost to the common people is limited to the paper as the patients are forced to buy the medicines from private clinics and medical stores. “We have to go to India when we don´t get the required medicines even in medical stores,” Bohara complained.



One primary health center, 14 health centers and 15 sub health posts in the district face scarcity of medicines. They all don´t have medicines even for maternity service and lack building and manpower required for the health centers.



The medicines distributed to female volunteers throughout the district for primary treatment have also not been provided for months. “We are forced to give traditional medicinal herbs to the patients because of the lack of medicines. The board of female volunteer hung up at home means nothing,” says a volunteer from Jogbuda.



The Dadeldhura District Health Office says that the medicines have arrived at the office but not been distributed to the health centers in the villages. “We have just been delivered two trucks of medicines from Nepalgunj and are manking arrangements to distribute them,” office assistant Gehendra Budhathoki said. The district office says that the office´s vehicle will distribute medicines at places having road link but it will be difficult to reach out to the villages without transport facility.

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