Air pollution giving Capital denizens a cough

KATHMANDU: The ongoing road expansion drive has given rise to various respiratory disease in the Kathmandu Valley. 

According to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, it has recorded 831 patients of pneumonia, 676 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 114 of asthma and 144 of bronchitis since July. 

“Number of people suffering from various respiratory diseases has doubled since the road-widening drive began,” said Dr Dirgha Singh Bam, a former health secretary. “Though the government’s road expansion initiative is appreciable, it has not been well-organised.”

According to World Health Organisation, air pollution is a significant risk factor for multiple health conditions, including respiratory infections, heart diseases and lung cancer.

Air pollution causes breathing difficulty, pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, skin diseases, allergy, wheezing and coughing problems. The problems caused due to air pollution is broad, however, it mostly affects the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. 

“The government could have prevented this problem by expediting the road construction and carrying out the works at night,” Dr Bam said. 

According to WHO standards‚ the level of Particulate Matter10 should be 20 microgram per cubic metre (µg/m3). The Ministry of Environment informed that the PM-10 concentration in ambient air was recorded at up to 699 µg/m3 against 120 µg/m3, the national ambient air quality standards in Kathmandu in March. 

The air pollution in Kathmandu is mainly attributed to vehicular emissions. The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division says that on-duty traffic cops can be taken as indicator to the adverse health hazards triggered by the air pollution as they perform duty by standing at least 18 hours on the roads daily. 

According to statistics, an average of four traffic cops are taken ill daily due to exposure to dust particles and exhaust, prompting the MTPD to organise health camps from time to time.

Source: The Himalayan Times
5th December, 2013

Nepal’s Female Community Health Volunteers have paved the way for groundbreaking ideas in the health sector

DEC 05 -

Today, December 5 marks an important milestone—the 25th anniversary of Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHV).  The idea was simple enough in theory. With the assistance of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations, a cadre of female health practitioners would bring health education and medical outreach services to families throughout the country. In practice, the challenges were enormous, not least Nepal’s underdeveloped infrastructure and extreme geography.  

Now, 25 years later, I can confidently say the project has been a huge success.  Since its inception in 1988, the FCHV programme has proven to be a key factor in Nepal’s dramatic reduction in maternal and child mortality.  Today, there are about 52,000 FCHV members working across the country’s 75 districts.  They are a vital pillar of Nepal’s public health sector and have saved the lives of tens of thousands of people who would otherwise have died from unnecessary causes.

December 5 is also commemorated worldwide as International Volunteer’s Day. And who better to be honoured on this day than Female Community Health Volunteers, who serve as Nepal’s frontline public health workers? In congratulating these special, dedicated women, let me cite a few of their most impressive achievements:

सर्लाहीमा झाडापखालाको प्रकोप

सर्लाहीमा झाडापखालाको प्रकोप

दूषित पानीले यहाँको चुरेफेदीको परवानीपुर १ सतभैया टोलमा झाडापखालाको प्रकोप फैलिएको छ । प्रकोप बढेपछि स्वास्थ्यकर्मीको टोलीले गाउँमा पुगेर उपचार गरिरहेको छ । शनिबार बिहान गाउँमा पखाला फैलिएपछि उपचारका लागि लालबन्दी प्राथमिक स्वास्थ्य केन्द्रमा लगिएको थियो ।

'पूरै गाउँमा एकै पटक झाडापखाला फैलियो,' स्थानीय दिलबहादुर रेग्मीले भने, 'टाउको दुख्ने, बान्ता हुने र पखाला लाग्ने भयो ।' गाउँलेले प्रयोग गर्ने साझा इनारको पानी दूषित भएर झाडापखाला फैलिएको अनुमान छ । एक्कासि धेरै बिरामी परेपछि चुनाव प्रचारमा पुगेका उम्मेदवारका गाडीमा उनीहरूलाई अस्पताल लगिएको थियो । १७ जनाको लालबन्दी अस्पतालमा उपचार भइरहेको छ । 'चुनाव प्रचारका गाडी नभएको भए के हुन्थ्यो भन्न सकिन्न,' रेग्मीले भने, 'धेरै जना बिरामी भएकाले आत्तिएर हामी त सोच्नै नसक्ने भएका थियौं ।' लालबन्दी प्राथमिक स्वास्थ्य केन्द्रमा उपचारार्थ भर्ना भएका १२ जना निको भएर आइतबार घर फिर्ता भएका छन् । 

बढी बिरामी ५ जनाको उपचार जारी छ । बिरामी भई अस्पतालमा उपचारार्थ भर्ना भएका टलकबहादुर रानाले सधैंझैं खानेकुरा खाएकाले पानीकै कारण पखाला फैलिएको बताए । 'गाउँमा रहेको इनारको पानी खाने तल्लो टोलका मात्र सबैजसो बिरामी पर्‍यौं,' उनले भने, 'अस्पताल आएका बाहेक गाउँमा पनि उत्तिकै बिरामी छन् ।' शनिबार अस्पताल भर्ना भएका रानालाई आइतबारसम्म निको भएको छैन । अस्पतालकी नर्स कमला भट्टराईले पखाला, बान्ता र टाउको दुख्ने लक्षण बिरामीमा देखिएको बताइन् ।

 

प्रकाशित मिति: २०७० कार्तिक १०

स्रोत :कान्तिपुर दैनिक 

Vet teams to curb flow of unhealthy meat to capital

KATHMANDU, October 1: In a bid to contain the supply of unhealthy and hygienic meat to the capital for the upcoming Dashain festival, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has decided to deploy five teams of veterinary experts at main entry points. 
Traders could supply the livestock to the capital only after the teams vet and clear them, officials at metropolis´ health department said.
Vet doctors will give green label to the healthy animals and red to the unhealthy ones, said Dr Baburam Gautam, Chief of the department. 
The sick or suspicious animals will then be quarantined for 24 hours. [brealk] 
"Quarantined animals will be sent back if their health does not improve within 24 hours," said Narendra Bajracharya, another official at Department.
The officials added that they will strictly prohibit sale and slaughter of sick animals.
They said that the metropolis will also deploy veterinary teams at the livestock markets at Tukuchha, Dillibazar and Koteshwor apart from the major entry points at Nagarjune and Kalanki areas for a week from October 6.
He said that the office will take stern legal action against the traders if they are caught supplying dead animals to or within the metropolis. 
The metropolis has also launched raids against traders involved in the supply of unhealthy animals and meat products. 
Recently, it had carried out a mid night raid following a tip off that a group of meat traders were supplying carcass to the capital. It had seized some dead fowls and goats following the raid.
"We have already taken legal action against such traders," Bajracharya said, adding that the metropolis will hand over the culprits to the police as it lacked law to penalize them. 
The KMC also handed over the carcasses to the District Administration Office, which in turn handed it over to the District Veterinary Office for postmortem. 
The metropolis has also been inspecting the meat markets twice a week in the run up to the festive season.
Published on 2013-10-04 03:24:06
Source: Republica news

Dengue cases on the rise in Jhapa

Dengue , an infectious disease caused by mosquito bite, is taking its toll in Jhapa district lately.

Health workers said 17 people, including 13 from Mechinagar Municipality alone, are found to have been infected with the disease.Lekhnath Khatiwada, assistant health worker at the Kakadvitta Health Post, said dengue cases are found mostly in Kakadvitta and its adjoining areas.

The disease, which is transmitted by female mosquitoes named Aedes aegypti, causes fever and severe pain in the joints.

Bed Prasad Ghimire, official at the District Public Health Office (DPHO), said his office has carried out publicity and awareness programmes in order to control the disease in the affected areas.

The health officials suspect that the disease was transmitted to local people who went to Indian town of Siliguri which is greatly affected by dengue in past few months.

Meanwhile, the number of patients suffering from the disease reached 25 in Parsa district. DPHO chief Arun Kumar Mahato said 12 patients are receiving treatment in various hospitals while 13 others returned homes after treatment.

Posted on: 2013-10-03 08:42 

Source: ekantipur. com

Keep your locality tidy‚ take part in clean up campaign tomorrow

KATHMANDU: The government is launching a ‘Clean Up Nepal’ campaign coinciding with the World Sanitation Day, 2013, on Saturday.
Organising a press conference, the Solid Waste Management Technical Support Centre today urged all the stakeholders to actively participate in the campaign in order to keep the city and locality clean and tidy. 
This year’s World Sanitation Day slogan is: ‘Our place, our planet, our responsibility’. Nepal is organising the campaign with the slogan ‘Together let’s sparkle Nepal’. 
“We appeal to everyone to participate in the sanitation campaign from their locality from seven in the morning to noon on September 21,” said Sumitra Amatya, Director, SWMTSC. “We need helping hands to make our places clean and healthy,” she added. According to SWMTSC, the campaign will begin at 200 places across the country on Saturday. “Some 10,000 volunteers and 300 different organisations are taking part in the programme,” said Amatya.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Urban Development has formulated a policy on urban development which focuses on waste management, drinking water and sewerage management, pollution control, greenery promotion and enhancing the beauty of cities.
The government has plans to provide universal access to basic drinking water and sanitation facilities to all by 2017 as per the Millennium Development Goals. Water and sanitation traps people in a vicious circle of disease, poverty and cost people their lives, said experts at the press meet today. According to the Ministry of Urban development, only 82 per cent of the population have access to drinking water and only 62 per cent have access to sanitation facilities in Nepal.

Though the data indicates that Nepal has met MDG target on water and sanitation, only 50 per cent of water supply schemes are functional and sustainability of the sanitation practices is still questionable. The World Sanitation Day, which began from 1997, is marked on the second week of September by 130 countries across the world. 
About 35 million people around the world participate in the ‘Clean up the World’ campaign every year.
Source: The Himalayan Times

Suddha Pani shut down for selling contaminated water

A market monitoring team of the Department of Commerce and Supply Management (DoCSM) shut down Suddha Pani situated in the Pepsicola town planning area on Monday. The department took action against the company after it failed to abide by the purity standards set by the government.

According to the DoCSM, the water being supplied by Suddha Pani was found to contain mesophilic and coliform bacteria. The company has been extracting ground water and selling it in the market after purifying it.

A DoCSM statement said that the company had been banned from extracting ground water and supplying it. The operation was carried out in the presence of Sushmita Shrestha, proprietor of Suddha Pani.

“The company has been sealed as it failed the quality test carried out by the Department of Food Technology and Quality Controls,” said Narayan Prasad Bidari, director general at the DoCSM. “We will intensify such operations in the days to come.”    

The Kathmandu valley is heavily dependent on water supplied by the private sector. Against the average daily demand of 370 million l of water in the valley, the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) has been supplying just 140 million l. Private firms claim that they supply 90 million l of water by tanker daily. Likewise, they supply 120,000 units of 20-l water jars on a daily basis.

“As per our findings, there are around 260 water extracting and distributing companies in Kathmandu. And most of them have not acquired operation permits. This has raised a serious question about the health of the general people,” said Prem Lal Maharjan, president of the National Consumers

Forum. He added that the government should intensify such checks on water extraction and distribution as drinking water is among the basic needs of the general people.

Maharjan added that the DoCSM should also look into the price factor of the water being distributed in the capital city. “A one-litre bottle of drinking water is sold for around Rs 25 while the production cost is just around Rs 10. As for the 20-l jar, the production cost is Rs 25-Rs 30,” said Maharjan, adding that the government should realize this and ask private water bottling firms to reduce prices.

Apart from the water plant, the monitoring team checked Family Store in Pepsicola town planning area and seven other stores—New Namaste Mart, Baneshwor; Ganga Khadya Bhandar, Battisputali; Aaman Kirana Pasal, Bhimsengola and Banepali Pasal, Apna Cold Store and Best Buy Shopping Centre in Old Baneshwor.

They were caught for not displaying price lists and signboards, not renewing their business licences and selling date-expired products. The DoCSM said in a statement that all the date-expired products found in the stores were destroyed and the owners were warned not to repeat the offence in the future.

soruce : http://www.ekantipur.com/2013/09/03/business/suddha-pani-shut-down-for-selling-contaminated-water/377439.html

Date : sept 3, 2013