Remembering Nepal earthquake: Struggle for health facilities continue

Nearly 80% of health facilities in the affected districts were either damaged or destroyed in the quake

GN Bureau | April 25, 2016


#Nepal Earthquake Anniversary   #Health   #Nepal   #Nepal Earthquake  


It’s been a year since 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, killing at least 8,000 people, leaving more than 21,000 injured and two million homeless. The neighbouring country, however, fights to return to normalcy even after year.

Nearly 80 percent of health facilities in the affected districts were either damaged or destroyed in the earthquake. A year after the health department is still trying to reach the villages for the reconstruction of health facilities.

It is to be noted that Nepal's healthcare facilities have always been limited which quickly become much worse outside its major cities. Remote regions have only very basic medical centres that are ill-equipped to handle serious injuries, as Reuters reported.

“The preparations that were done in Kathmandu hospitals helped saved many lives. Similar preparations need to be put in place at all other levels too, so that in the event of an emergency, everyone in the entire health system is prepared and knows what to do. As health facilities are being reconstructed, there is an opportunity to build better, and put more risk reduction measures in place,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director , World Health Organisation, South-East Asia.

PHOTOS: Revisiting our file photos from quake-hit Nepal

She stressed on how things could have been done better in badly affected places and highlighted on the need of extending emergency preparedness and response measures to other districts.

While addressing a two–day ‘Lessons Learnt Conference: Health Sector Response to Nepal Earthquake 2015’ organised by the ministry of health, Nepal in Kathmandu, Khetrapal emphasised on learning from the Nepal earthquake, as from the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Laying thrust on robust emergency response plans, she said, “These plans should be at all levels and should be tested periodically for their effectiveness. These plans should be all encompassing – from ensuring resilient and safe hospitals, to training health staff and effectively engaging communities, to minimise the health impact of any emergency.”

 
 

Comments

 

Other News

India’s silent lead crisis

Flint, Michigan, was a wake-up call. Lead contamination in water supplied to homes in that American city led to a catastrophic public health emergency in 2014, which is yet to be fully resolved. But India’s lead poisoning crisis is ten times worse- larger, quieter, and far most devastating. Nearly ha

‘Dial 100’: A tribute to the police force and its unsung heroes

Dial 100  By Kulpreet Yadav HarperCollins, 232 pages, Rs 299  A wife conspires with her ex-lover to mur

India’s economic duality: formal dreams, informal realities

“Whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true.” – Joan Robinson In its pursuit of becoming a $5 trillion economy, India has laid significant emphasis on formalizing its economic architecture—expanding digital payments, mandating

Targeting root causes of cancer with green policies

The Budget 2025 was splashed across headlines with its innumerable numbers and policies, but lurking behind the balance sheets is a threat that it has not accounted for yet — the silent, merciless clutches of cancer. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that it remains one of humanity`s mo

Congress needs course correction: Prithviraj Chavan

Prithviraj Chavan, a former Maharashtra chief minister and veteran Congress leader, feels his party has probably failed to provide a viable alternative to the government, and it needs a course correction. “I do acknowledge that the Congress party may have failed to provide the alternat

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now





Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter