Call On Youth

THE youth have an onerous task to perform in the process of nation building everywhere in the world. It is the young people who act as the major change agents in any society. How they are being groomed today determines what they can do for the nation tomorrow. Their aspirations, if guided well from the beginning at home, school, community and work, will play a crucial role in shaping the future of a nation. The youth have the energy and zeal to do something for the larger interest of all members of their society but that their energy needs to be channelised in the right direction and zeal should be grounded on the realities of their surrounding. That is, the youth alone may not be the sole determiners of what course the society will take. They need a solid grounding on the core issues of the nation, a healthy grooming to shape a forward-looking attitude to solve the problems and a leadership that they can look up to as they take responsibilty on their shoulders. In lieu of any or all these, the young population could be misguided, indifferent and apathetic about the societal affairs. That could have grave ramifications for the society in question.

The national leaders have to be aware of both the prospects and pitfalls of relying on the role of the youth in nation building. It is in this context Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand's exhortations on the Nepalese youth to move ahead for building the bright future of the country sound as quite significant. Chand was addressing a programme organised at the Royal Nepal Army headquarters parade ground for the convocation parade of students of various branches under the junior division 29th group on the occasion of the 38th anniversary of the National Cadet Corps the other day. The young students, who underwent training under the junior division, will certainly make valuable contributions towards making the nation better off through their discipline and dedication. But the message is best received if all the youth think of doing something good for others. Especially at a time when the nation is reeling under uncertainties of sorts on political, economic and social fronts, the youth across the nation should rethink if they are on the right track, if they can do better in the given situation. The leaders of the society, however, have a greater role to play - they should make sure that they have not come in the way of the youth, make sure that they have created the right kind of environment for the youth to put their youthful, selfless energy in the service of all.

Dismal Progress

YET another report reveals a bleak picture of the country's health sector. According to the Demographic Survey 2001, out of 800,000 babies born every year, 30,000 die before they are one month old, which means three to four new-borns die every hour in Nepal. The survey further states that neonatal mortality accounts for more than 60 per cent of all deaths in infancy. The survey is a testimony that the country's infant mortality rate is still high compared to other parts of the world and the attempts that the country made in the past have failed to give the desired results. Nepal is committed to reducing child mortality to 54 by the year 2015 from 64 in 2001. The Ministry of Health has a target to reduce neonatal mortality to 34 per 1,000 live births by the end of the Tenth Five-Year Plan from 38.6 in 2001. Considering the results of the survey, it seems it is not easy to achieve the set targets unless neonatal mortality, which contributes heavily to infant mortality, is reduced drastically.According to the survey, most of the new borns die in homes where they are born due to lack of awareness on the part of families, communities and healthworkers. Certainly, poverty and illiteracy among the rural people are causes of the high infant death rates. Most of the poor farmers in the villages cannot afford to carry the labouring women to the hospitals located in the district headquarters. Even the hospitals in many districts are not equppied with adequate medical personnel and essential appliances. The health posts and centres of the villages are often out of doctors and medicines. The locally available midwives are not trained well. As such, they have no option rather than letting the women have their babies at homes in the presence of the local women. Many of the rural women are unaware as to what a mother should eat to have a healthy baby and to keep it healthy. They do not know of the benefits of increased birth intervals and clean delivery practices. The situation calls for a renewed commitment and more vigorous efforts on the part of the authorities to make sure the major causes of child mortality in general are addressed well.