Kathmandu, May 31:Minister for Health Dr Ram Baran Yadav has said that health education should be taken to the nooks and corners of the country in order to reach medical services to the 80 per cent of the people living in the villages.
Dr Yadav, who was addressing a two day workshop seminar on food and water borne diseases, said although health education in our country starts from class six it will not have any meaning as long as students have to copy during examinations because of failure to understand what has been taught.
Minister of State for Health Tirtha Ram Dangol, who chaired the seminar organised by the Ministry of Health, Health Services Department epidemiology and disease control division, said at a time when most Nepalese cannot afford to boil their drinking water our health policy should be focused not on those who can afford to go abroad for medical treatment but on those who have to remain in their villages.
Secretary at the Health Ministry Sri Kant Regmi said a policy of strengthening the local bodies should be adopted and the habit of looking to the center alone discouraged.
Director General of the Health Services Department D.B. Chataut said outbreaks of disease can be brought under control in time through coordination among the health education bodies, units concerned with veterinary services, drinking water, foodgrain and standards and the municipalities.
Director of the division Dr Mahendra Bahadur Bista, speaking about the aims of the seminar, said these are to make surveillance against diarrheal outbreaks in Kathmandu Valley more effective, stress the supply of clean drinking water to the people of the valley, pay greater attention to personal and environmental cleanliness and impart health education.
Adulterated water and foodstuff affect some l00,000 to l50,000 people in Nepal and result in 3,000 to 5,000 deaths annually, it is stated.
According to a report of the Child Health Division, 477,4l2 children came down with diarrheal ailments in fiscal year l995/96 and 543,24l in l997/98.
Similarly, 72 reports of diarrheal outbreak were received from 4l districts in l998 and 5l reports from 32 districts in l999. In l999 there were 9l cases of cholera in Kathamndu Valley, according to the data.
Apart from water borne disease, people also die from consuming the meat of sick animals or develop long term disease. There is no data on deaths caused by poisonous mushrooms.
According to information provided at the seminar, disease can be transmitted through the consumption of raw meat and the meat of chicken eaten within l5 days of antibiotics being used on them.