PRACHANDA ASKED TO CONTINUE

THREE-PARTY SUMMIT ASKS PRACHANDA TO CONTINUE

Kathmandu, 6 April; At a summit meeting of the Big Three Tuesday, NC
and UML asked Maoist Chairman Prachanda to continue as chief of a
sub-committee to resolve differences on articles to be incorporated in a constitution that has to be promulgated by 28 May, Maoist
Vice-chairman Narayan Kazi Shrestha said.
Prachanda said he was backing out because of a busy schedule and suggested Shrestha’s name as replacement.
The suggestion will be taken up at a meeting of the main constitution drafting committee headed by Nilambar Acharya Friday.
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FOUR DEAD, SIX INJURED IN MINI-TRUCK ACCIDENT

Kathmandu, 6 April: Four persons died and six were injured
overnight at Khalte in Syangjha.
Three died on the spot and one en route to hospital for treatment.
Police said the vehicle was overloaded.
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AUSTRALIA TO DOUBLE ASSISTANCE

Kathmandu, 6 April: Australia will double its $19 million annual assistance to Nepal by 2015 and invest the additional money in health and education sectors.
Present assistance is limited to the very successful forest conservation effort and disaster management.
The Australian gesture was conveyed Tuesday by Ambassador Susan Grace to Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, an official announcement said.
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GOVT. TEAM TO CLIMB EVEREST LEAVES THURSDAY

Kathmandu, 6 April: A 15-member team of government officials will leave
for Everest base camp Thursday to scale the 8848 meters high world’s tallest peak in May.
The team is led by Lila Mani Paudel, secretary at the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
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AFC CHALLENGE CUP QUALIFIERS FROM THURSDAY

Kathmandu, 6 April: AFC Challenge Cup Group D Qualifiers will begin Thursday.
Afghan and North Korean squads arrived Tuesday while Sri
Lankans came one day earlier Monday.
Nepal plays Afghanistan while North Korea meets Sri Lanka
Thursday.
Host Nepal will take on North Korea Saturday and Sri Lanka meets Afghanistan the same day.
Nepal plays Sri Lanka Monday while North Korea will face Afghanistan.
The four teams are competing for two berths for the finals.
ANFA has received $80,000 contribution from AFC while
government has contributed Rs.500,000 for the Rs.10 million tournament.
ANFA hopes to raise Rs 2 million from ticket sales.
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NEPALI MEDICS IN LURCH IN PAKISTAN

Kathmandu, 6 April: A strike called by medical practitioners across Punjab in Pakistan has left in the lurch dozens of Nepali doctors and post-graduate medical trainees, The Kathmandu Post reports.

Thousands of doctors working in public hospitals across Punjab resigned and many others have gone on strike after the provincial government failed to meet their demands for a raise in salary, leaving many hospitals desperately short-staffed and struggling to administer patient care.

According to Dr Arun Kumar Singh, the President of Nepalese Students’ Organisation, Pakistan, more than 40 Nepali Post-graduate trainees for MD/MS/FCPS/MCPS and house officers working in different hospitals and institutes in Punjab have resorted to the strike as local hospitals and the provincial government failed to pay them since March.

The Nepali Embassy in Islamabad is closely monitoring developments and has advised Nepali doctors there not to align themselves with the agitators. It has asked them instead to take leave until the dispute is resolved.

“Due to the conflict between the Punjab Government and the Young Doctors’ Association (YDA), Nepali doctors are under pressure,” Dr. Singh wrote in an email response to a question.

“We have advised them to talk to principals of hospitals and medical institutions (and to tell them) that as foreigners they do not have any sides to take. It would be better for them to take leave and stay in the hostel until the ongoing agitation is over,” said Deputy Chief of Mission at the Nepali Embassy in Islamabad, Durga Bhandari.

Dr. Singh said the Nepali doctors and medical practitioners are being threatened and forced to join the strike. “We are in a dilemma. We don’t know if we should report for duty,” he said.

Some hospitals and medical institutions like PIC, King Edward Medical University, Ganga Ram Hospital, General Hospital and Jinnah Hospital have asked doctors to evacuate the hostel by Tuesday.

Approximately, 70 Nepali students, including 40 doctors, are pursuing higher education in Punjab province alone. Altogether, more than 200 Nepalis are pursuing medical courses in Pakistan.

The Nepali doctors have urged Nepali authorities, including the Nepali Embassy in Pakistan, to take immediate steps to ensure their safety.
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ELEPHANTIASIS DEATHS; GOVT. TO CHANGE NATIONAL
CAMPAIGN DRIFT

Kathmandu, 6 April: In the wake of deaths and controversy surrounding the administration of anti-elephantiasis drugs, the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) has opted to change its national campaign strategy. The decision comes as an admission of lapses and negligence in the campaign. MoHP has admitted negligence by volunteers in distributing elephantiasis drugs, which caused at least nine deaths, while over 700 people fell ill across the country, The Kathmandu Post writes.

The MoHP decision was triggered by several recommendations made by the expert teams after the field visit. Two teams each from the MoHP and World Health Organisation (WHO) were deployed in Banke, Bardiya, Saptari and Dang districts.

“We held intensive discussions among the stakeholders on the findings prepared by the MoHP team and submitted to us and decided to change the strategy,” said Dr Yashobarden Pradhan, director general of the Department of Health Sciences. The study team had submitted the report to Dr Pradhan on Monday.

According to him, as per the new strategy, free elephantiasis drugs will be administered under the direct supervision of health professionals.

The report submitted to Dr Pradhan said, ‘recklessness’ on the part of untrained volunteers and careless while following the procedures caused the deaths and illness and not the drugs themselves, as reported in the media.

The government had administered two drugs-Diethylcarbamazine (DEC) and Albendazole-to 14.5 million people aged above 2 years in 36 districts on March 26 and 27. Until Saturday, Banke, Bardiya, Saptari, Dang and Okhaldhunga districts reported high rates of deaths and illness.

Director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division Dr Saroj Prasad Rajendra said, “WHO will submit the findings of the study officially on Wednesday then we will make the report public.”

According to the findings, the volunteers were unaware of the precautions and directions to be followed while administering the drugs. For instance, it was suggested that the drugs not be given to infants below two years of age, pregnant women and patients with chronic illnesses like heart and renal diseases, epilepsy and jaundice, among others. However, the volunteers distributed the drugs to everyone simply by counting the number of family members, which had caused hue and cry in the districts. Meanwhile, Post reporter said two persons lost their lives on Tuesday, while undergoing treatment for elephantiasis at Dharan based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences and six persons are sick. The deceased have been identified as Draupadi Chaudhary, 70, of Hariharpur of Chitwan and Mansur Khatun of Boriya.



Court stops drive

The Nepalgunj Appellate Court on Tuesday directed the Banke administration to stop distributing elephantiasis drugs in the district. The court was responding to a writ filed by a group of organisations working in the social and human rights sectors. The court said the drive against elephantiasis lacked preparations and planning. It added that the standard specifications set for administering the drugs were not followed in the district.
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