Local Residents Face Challenges as Hospital Construction Remains Unfinished

  October 29, 2024 By: INSEC

Although the Government of Nepal advanced the plan to build hospitals at the local level across the country on November 30, 2020, the hospital buildings with laid foundation stones in five out of the seven local levels in Dadeldhura district remain unconstructed. Due to this, residents in the area are facing significant challenges. Four years ago, the Government of Nepal planned to construct 5, 10, and 15-bed hospitals at the local level. However, due to budget shortages and the negligence of the construction company, the hospitals in five local levels of the district remain unconstructed. Besides Ganyapadhura Rural Municipality, the government has laid the foundation for hospitals in Ajaymeru, Navadurga, Bhageshwar, and Alital Rural Municipalities to address basic health rights, but construction has not progressed.

Local Bhakta Gahamagar from Alital Rural Municipality-5 complained that the construction of hospitals, which began four years ago, has not progressed yet. As a result, it has deprived the citizens of their basic health rights. He stated that without hospitals at the local level, people are forced to go to Dadeldhura Hospital, Kailali, and Kanchanpur for treatment. The construction of the 10-bed hospital has not progressed. Without the basic health hospital, pregnant women, new mothers, senior citizens, and children are unable to access healthcare easily.

Ajayameru Rural Municipality Chairperson Umesh Prasad Bhatt stated that the hospital, which should have been completed in two years, has not yet been built even after four years, forcing locals to travel to the district headquarters or Dhangadhi for treatment. If the hospital had been built on time, the citizens here would have received services right at their doorstep, and healthcare facilities would have improved. Due to the delay in the hospital’s construction, citizens have been deprived of essential services. Citizens are waiting for the construction company to complete the work.  Chairperson Shersingh Parki of the Rural Municipality said that the problem has arisen in the construction of the basic health hospital due to the non-availability of the budget from the federal government. He stated that the budget had not been received from the federal government. The Ministry of Health and Population had not sent the required budget for constructing 5, 10, and 15-bed basic hospitals to the local levels. Efforts are being made to request the federal government to release the budget.

In Ganyapadhura Rural Municipality, the hospital construction work has gained momentum. The physical progress of the 10-bed hospital being built in Ganyapadhura Rural Municipality-2 is over 65%, and the construction company aims to complete the project within the next year, as stated by the municipality’s engineer, Surendra Bahadur Khatri.
Ganyapadhura Rural Municipality Chairperson Indra Bahadur Karki stated that ensuring the basic health rights of local citizens is the top priority for the municipality. He mentioned that once the hospital construction is completed and operational, residents will have access to specialized healthcare services in their communities. The Ministry of Health has arranged for 32 staff members at the 15-bed basic hospital, including one MDGP doctor, two medical officers, one nursing officer, six staff nurses, and five health assistants. For the 10-bed basic hospital, there will be 22 staff members, including two medical officers, and the 5-bed basic hospital will have 18 staff members, including one medical officer. According to Ravi Kanta Mishra, the Information Officer of the Ministry of Health, the ministry allocates Rs 7,11,00,000 for 5-bed hospitals, Rs 10,83,00,000 for 10-bed hospitals, and Rs 18,6,00,000 for 15-bed hospitals to the accounts of local levels.

According to Dr. Prakash Budhathoki, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, 40 basic hospitals have been brought into operation across the country, and preparations are underway to bring an additional 100 into operation. There has been no delay in the construction of hospitals laid in the first phase. Due to weaknesses at the local level, construction work has not progressed in some areas. Budgets have been sent to local levels that have submitted documents as per the rules, and hospital construction is not halted due to budget shortages.

According to Article 35, Sub-article 1 of the Constitution of Nepal, every citizen shall have the right to receive free basic health services from the state, and no one shall be deprived of emergency health services. However, the residents living in remote areas of the district are being deprived of even basic health services.


Sherbahadur Bhandari