Diarrhoea pandemic

The Kathmandu Post
14 July 2009

Diarrhoea pandemic

The diarrhoea pandemic in the Mid Western districts of Jajarkot and Rukum, which has claimed over 120 lives and rendered thousands severely ill, could easily have been controlled with timely preventive measures in place (“PM to directly supervise,” July 13, Page 1).
But the sad fact is that most health workers deputed at the VDC-level health institutions have failed miserably in their duty of educating locals on health-related issues on a regular basis.
I have witnessed firsthand while working with a Swiss-funded bilateral health project in Dolakha and Ramechhap districts how untimely deaths due to water-borne diseases can be avoided by raising people's awareness. This was possible with the implementation of health education programme in close collaboration with VDC-level health workers. Why don't the district health offices organise simple health education training programmes for VDC-level health workers who, in turn, can raise awareness among local people on basic health issues?
Distributing medicine after an outbreak of disease won't solve anything in the long run. The local people must be made aware about the hazards of drinking contaminated water. To do so, the government should work on a war footing — before similar outbreaks in other parts of the country. Otherwise many more people will lose their lives this monsoon.
Rai Biren Bangdel
Maharajgunj, Kathmandu

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