Nepal Lawmaker Draws Attention to Severe Shortage of Free Medicines

Nepali lawmaker Ganesh Paudel has drawn the government’s attention to the severe shortage of free medicines in state-run health facilities.

Speaking at a meeting of the Education, Health and Information Technology Committee on Thursday, Paudel said medicines that were supposed to be distributed free of cost by the Ministry of Health were not available at lower-level health centers.

During his visit to health facilities in his constituency, Paudel found that some places had zero stock of free medicines.

The lawmaker also discussed the plight of impoverished citizens suffering from complex diseases, particularly cancer.

He pointed out that due to financial constraints, patients were unable to receive treatment and were experiencing severe mental stress.

Paudel stated that the government’s provision of 100,000 rupees for treatment was insufficient and cumbersome.

He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that the facilities promised by the Madhesh Province government were not being provided on time, forcing patients to wait for years.

‘The Chandrapur hospital receives an annual budget of 1.7 million rupees for medicines, but due to its central location, it also receives patients from neighboring municipalities, resulting in an annual demand of over 10 million rupees,’ Paudel said.

‘In such a situation, the government needs to make special policy arrangements to bridge the gap between the budget and the demand.

What plans has the Ministry of Health made to ensure that the impoverished receive proper treatment and the right to live?’

Paudel also drew the committee’s attention to the alarming problem of snake bites in the Madhesh Province.

He stated that due to the lack of proper treatment centers in Rautahat, patients were dying prematurely.

Paudel demanded that at the very least, the Nepal Army barracks should have reliable snake bite treatment facilities.