Nepal: The Ministry of Health and Population has included additional medicines to treat non-communicable diseases to the list of essential drugs to be distributed free from state-run health facilities throughout the country.
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The move aims to
address the growing menace of non-communicable diseases in the country,
according to officials.
“We have
included several medicines for non-communicable diseases—mental health,
cardiovascular, respiratory illness and diabetes,” said Dr Phanindra Prasad
Baral, chief of the NCD and Mental Health Section at the Epidemiology and
Disease Control Division. “Now the number of medicines for non-communicable
diseases listed as essential drugs has reached 20.”
The health
ministry used to provide more than 70 different types of medicines for
communicable and non-communicable diseases to all district hospitals with at
least 25 beds. Patients get more than 60 types of essential medicines at
primary healthcare centres and 35 types of drugs at health posts.
“Now, district
hospitals will provide 98 types of medicines for both communicable and
non-communicable diseases free of cost from district hospitals, and primary
health care centres,” said Baral. “Patients can get 57 types of medicines free
of cost from health posts across the country. The government has allocated the
budget accordingly to the provincial and local governments.”
Public health
experts have been urging the agencies concerned to increase the budget and give
more attention to non-communicable diseases, which have been responsible for
over two-thirds of the total deaths in the country for a long time.
A 2019 study on
the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases by the Nepal Health Research Council
found that noncommunicable diseases accounted for 71 percent of the deaths in
the country. Reports show heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,
lower respiratory infection and stroke are the leading killers.
A report of the STEP survey of
non-communicable disease risk factors jointly carried out by the World Health
Organization, the Health Ministry and the Nepal Health Research Council
revealed alarming signs on a number of issues—alcohol consumption, tobacco use,
salt and junk food intake, vegetable and fruits intake, and the risk of
cardiovascular diseases.
Experts say a
lot of people suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, respiratory
diseases, and heart ailments, among others could not afford to purchase
medicines, which is among the reasons for premature deaths. Out-of-pocket payments
are the reasons in many cases for discontinuity of the medications, doctors
say. Patients suffering from most non-communicable diseases can’t discontinue
their medication without consulting their doctors.
According to
doctors, medication for most non-communicable diseases—high blood pressure,
diabetes, respiratory diseases, heart diseases—works only when taken regularly.
They advise that those suffering from these ailments should not discontinue
their medicines, even when their health returns to normal.
“We can
understand how serious the burden of non-communicable diseases is, as three out
of four deaths in
Though
non-communicable diseases result from a combination of genetic, psychological,
environmental and behavioural factors, they have significant impacts on children,
according to Koirala.
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