Access To Health Service

PRIME Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that development of health sector was very necessary for the development and progress of the country and expressed government’s commitment to make health care service easily accessible and affordable to all people in the country. Addressing a function organized by Maternity Hospital on the occasion of its 42nd anniversary in Kathmandu the other day, Prime Minister Deuba lauded the role played by the Maternity hospital in providing maternity health care services to millions of women in the country. The health status is one of the indicators of country’s development level. Nepal’s health status is one of the poorest in the world. Poverty is the main cause of all ills of the society including poor health status. In the same way, poor health of the people also contributes to create poverty. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. Many people die of easily preventable diseases every year. The case of women in Nepal is even worse. Many women die every year because of maternity related complications. In view of this, His Majesty’s Government has accorded high priority to make health care facilities available to all people in every nook and corner of the country. In this connection various activities have been carried out in the field of health with the objective of making the health care services easily available to the general mass through the improvement and extension of basic health services. As a result of government’s increased efforts over the past few decades, the condition in the health sector has improved to a certain extent. However, situation is still far from satisfactory. There are relatively better health care facilities in the urban areas. However, people in the rural and remote areas continue to suffer due to the lack of health services. Nepal is basically a rural and hilly country and majority of the people live in the rural areas. Thus, efforts must be made to make the health care facilities easily available and improve health services in the rural areas. Right to health is one of the universally accepted human rights. The government has also accepted this right of the people. Various international donors have been actively supporting the efforts of the government to make its slogan of " Health For All" a success.

Teach Them Young

COINCIDING with the recent meet of foreign secretaries from all seven nations of SAARC in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to finalise the dates for the 11th SAARC Summit, students of different schools presented a mock SAARC Summit in Kathmandu, as per a news item carried by this daily the other day. Students from various schools acted as representatives of the seven SAARC nations to highlight the problems, challenges and prospects of SAARC as per the topic of the day. The mock session was laudable in that it provided the participating students with an appropriate forum to not only know, learn and realise the importance of the South Asian regional grouping but also to air their views on various issues confronting SAARC. Moreover, the participating students did get a rare opportunity to learn more about SAARC through the incisive comments of erudite intellectuals and experienced ex-diplomats who have garnered deep knowledge of the workings of SAARC. More importantly, the students obviously went home more enlightened about this regional grouping that the leaders of the seven South Asian nations, after much deliberations, had brought into existence a decade and five years for the overall welfare and development of their region and people—who, of course, includes the students themselves.

SAARC, as a regional entity, has indeed weathered many sessions in its 15-year-old existence. While some sessions were instrumental in forging regional cooperation in various spheres of national endeavours, others were mired in one or the other controversy. Yet SAARC, notwithstanding all this, is still very much around. This proves that the leaders and peoples of South Asia still do have a common desire for its continued existence as well as an abiding faith in its worth. However, it may take SAARC a few more decades to fully realise its full potentials. While the leaders are busy propelling SAARC towards its aims, the torch, sooner or later, is bound to be transferred to the younger generation of leaders. Undoubtedly, some of today’s students will be there to not only receive it but also to hold it high. As such, if SAARC nations are to forge ahead, it looks to reason on their part to spare no resources to give credence to the oft-quoted saying "Teach them while they are young". For, the South Asian students of today are indeed the potential SAARC leaders of tomorrow.