Nepal Investing in Health Care but Equality of Access Lags

Medical staff pose in a new maternal care ward at the Melamchi Municipality Hospital, Nepal, in November 2021. Credit: Marty Logan/IPSBy Marty LoganKATHMANDU, Feb 4 2022 (IPS) As the omicron wave of Covid-19 rose ominously in Nepal recently, to entice more people to get tested the government reduced the cost of PCR tests from 1,000 rupees ($8.37) to 800 rupees ($6.70) in government facilities and about double that in private ones. “People with limited incomes can’t afford to get the test, and imagine if four members of a family have symptoms, the PCR tests alone will make a hole in their income,” Dr Baburam Marasini, former director at the Government of Nepal Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, told the Kathmandu Post. Income per capita in Nepal in 2020 was $1,190, according to the World Bank. “High quality health care was not universally accessible in Nepal, but was generally enjoyed by only a relatively small and elite portion of the population, and generally, access to health care in the country is unequal and the health system faces perennial shortages of resources, essential drugs and necessary medical infrastructure” Noting that free treatment of conditions like tuberculosis, malnutrition and malaria had saved many lives in the country, Marasini argued that “the government should make PCR tests free across the country for those who have symptoms.” While the government has not taken that step, in recent years it has provided free treatment for a gro...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Asia-Pacific Development & Aid Featured Headlines Health Nepal Source Type: news