KATHMANDU, March 24: Both hands of the girl in the photograph, who hails from a remote VDC of Jumla district, were broken long ago. There were no health facilities to conduct surgery nearby and her family was too poor to take her to a well-equipped hospital in the capital or even outside the district.
Due to the poor financial condition of her family, the girl became permanently disabled. Although she has both hands, they do not work and she has become a burden for her poverty-stricken parents.
Another man in the photograph, who hails from Dolpa district, belongs to a Dalit family. He fell off a tree while gathering fodder for cattle. One of his legs got fractured in the incident. His family, too, could not afford to take him to hospitals in big cities, leaving him with a permanent disability. In lack of proper treatment, his leg got swollen and he suffered pain and fever for months. The infection spread to the entire leg bone causing it to decay.
Captain Shakya, lone survivor of Saurya Airlines plane crash, p...
A man with a non-functioning leg and a girl whose hands were broken in an accident. They became permanently disabled as they could not get proper treatment for lack of health facilities in their district. (Photos: Govinda KC)
Similarly, the third picture is of a youth from Rolpa district, who has been suffering from spinal problem. He does not have the money to seek treatment at well-equipped hospitals in the capital and has been taking help of a shaman. The shaman heats the edge of a sickle in fire and stabs his body. The pain produced by the burning sickle is more severe and helps the youth forget his spinal pain.
All the photographs were taken by Dr Govinda KC, who is on an indefinite hunger strike demanding better health care services in remote districts. "Poor people in the hinter lands are dying in lack of basic health care services but our political leaders are not bothered about their plights," said Dr KC.
Ironically, many of these politicians have accumulated immense properties and have invested their money in medical colleges in big cities and in the capital. "They have been using money and muscle power to get affiliations for the colleges," complained Dr KC.
Each year, over 30,000 children less than one month old die across the country due to lack of treatment. Equal number of children under the age of five die of minor ailments like diarrhea, pneumonia, malnutrition, among others.
A spinal injury patient shows stab wounds inflicted with a heated sickle. In lack of health facility to treat his condition, the patient takes the help of a shaman.Arjun Poudel/Republica
However, political leaders, ministers, prime minister and even president go abroad using money from the state coffer to treat even minor health complications that could be treated within the country. Every year, the government spends millions of rupees for the treatment of political leaders at foreign hospitals.
Last year, the government provided Rs 500,000 each to ailing Nepali Congress leaders Govinda Raj Joshi and Siddha Raj Ojha for medical treatment.
The government had also borne the expenses for air ambulance and medical treatment when UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli had gone to Bangkok to treat is kidney-related ailments. The government had spent Rs 1.28 million for Oli's treatment. Similarly, former lawmaker from the CPN-UML Shanta Chaudhary had received approximately Rs 500,000 for medical treatment.
"But poor people have been dying without getting basic treatment services and cheap and easily available medicines like cetamol and oral-rehydration solution (ORS)," complained Dr KC, adding, "What could be a great irony, when some Constituent Assembly (CA) members even threatened to obstruct the CA if affiliation is not given to their medical colleges?"
Demanding implementation of his 10-point demand, Dr Govinda KC of the Institute of Medicine (IoM) began the indefinite hunger strike from Sunday evening. The 10 points demands put forth by Dr KC includes free health care services to all and establishment of medical colleges in remote districts.
He said that Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has surrendered to the illegal demands of medical mafia. He also alleged the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) for abusing its own authority and giving illegal instruction to provide affiliations.
"Even the Supreme Court (SC) failed to use its jurisdiction properly," Dr KC said, adding that the SC is supposed to use wisdom while giving the verdict. The SC had issued order in favor of medical colleges that have admitted students without taking entrance examinations and even to students who fail in the entrance exams.
"I have been left with no choice except going to the people," complained Dr KC, adding, that crime, corruption, impunity and mafia have become dominant in politics. "If we do not stand up against these maladies, our country's health care system will not improve even in the next 30 years."
-1200x560-1779450784.webp)
