Praiseworthy Achievement

THAT there are 303 cooperatives managed by women must come as a piece of encouraging news in a country where women in general are behind men in almost every sector. As long as women do not participate in the mainstream of development not only theirs but the entire country’s prospects are bleak. Compared to a few decades back the women now have come forward and shown their enterprising spirit. They have in this manner carved a place in the society as those who can do equally well or even better than their male counterparts in assorted spheres. The country’s population is equally divided between males and females. With the participation of the women in development activities, much can be expected. The sad fact, however, is that due to various reasons the women have not been able to receive the credit for their contributions. Even where women can pitch in, illiteracy and lack of awareness have led to their falling behind in tapping new opportunities. This is especially true for the rural women as a majority of them are steeped in their traditional roles and barely step out of it. The society with its conservative leanings too has hampered with women’s development. The need therefore has arisen for women themselves to join hands and break the shackles of discrimination that persists despite the fact that the Constitution says otherwise.

The emerging women of today have shown that no work or job is too difficult for them to accomplish. The running of over three hundred women cooperatives in the country proves this. It is an achievement in itself. The figures were disclosed at a one-day interaction programme on "Participation of Women for Development of Cooperatives" organised by the National Cooperative Association Women Committee in Kathmandu on Sunday. The views expressed at the programme have highlighted the need for freedom of cooperatives and concrete policies. The skill, they have shown in managing cooperatives, despite some handicaps, is praiseworthy. The Nepalese women, in fact, are slowly displaying their ability to deal with work of any nature. Not only in the cities but also in the villages the women have proved they are no less than men.

Laudable Initiative

UNDER the National Vitamin A Programme (NVAP) of the Ministry of Health, over 3.1 million children aged between six months to five years received Vitamin A capsules in 73 districts of the nation the other day. Launched in Nepal since 1993, the programme, expanded gradually in a phase-wise manner, provides Vitamin A capsules to children in April and October every year. Concerning the administering of Vitamin A capsules to the nation’s children, what is heartening to know is that the programme’s initiatives are beginning to bear the desired fruits. As per the results of conducted surveys, while the coverage of the Vitamin A Programme is more than 90 per cent, over the last five years, Vitamin A supplements have managed to reduce the mortality rate of children under five years by 28 per cent. This means that every year the lives of more than 30,000 children are being saved through the intervention of the Vitamin A Programme in the country. This, in a country that has yet to see all its people, including the children, being covered by modern health services, is indeed a remarkable achievement. For, in the rural and remote regions—and where the vast majority of the population resides—if modern health delivering facilities are not only few and far in-between, then some of them either lack the much-needed medicines or personnel to cater to their health needs. In such a vexing situation, the first ones to suffer are invariably the children who are universally viewed by all as the most vulnerable section of any society in that they lack the voice to express their health needs. This, coupled with the absence of modern health services in areas, may be one of the reasons for giving the nation the unenviable distinction of being one of the few nations in the world having high child mortality rates. Since today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders the government, despite its limited resources, has been implementing children-specific health programmes, such as the NVAP, for the all-round development of the children. However, the government, to complement and augment its laudable children-specific schemes, should mobilise its available resources, expertise and manpower to build more modern health facilities throughout the nation, until such times, programmes like the NVAP should be launched on a concerted and sustainable basis.