President directs to procure vaccines for all citizens

KATHMANDU: President Bidhya Devi Bhandari briefed the Ministry of Health and Population on the latest state of the COVID-19 pandemic, the strategies implemented by the government for its prevention and control and various issues related to the ministry.

Secretary at the Ministry Laxman Prasad Aryal and Director General of the Department of Health Services Dr Dipendra Raman Singh made the announcement at a program organized at the President’s Office under the leadership of Health and Population Minister Sher Bahadur Tamang on Sunday.

After receiving detailed information from the Ministry, the Hon’ble President said that the right to health is mentioned in the Constitution of Nepal as a fundamental right of the citizens and stressed that the protection of the lives of the citizens is the priority at this time.

President Bhandari pointed that health is a multi-faceted issue which is why there is a need for the ministry to work in coordination with education, drinking water and sanitation, forest and environment and agriculture and other concerned agencies.

Similarly, the Ministry of Health has drawn the attention to take the lead in arranging vaccination for all the citizens as soon as possible as vaccination is the only option to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the occasion, Health Minister Sher Bahadur Tamang said that the provision of health insurance should be strengthened to protect the right of the citizens to get quality health care by providing health services to all. He added that the government was seriously studying the issue. He also said that people suffering from mental illness has increased significantly due to the pandemic and there is a need to provide more beds for those in the hospital.

Similarly, Health and Environment Secretary Laxman Aryal said that the process of procurement of 6 million vaccines against COVID  has already started. He said that there is a need to build 300-bed  hospitals in Kathmandu and 50-bed Infectious and tropical diseases hospitals in the province.

Director-General of Health Services Dr Dipendra Raman Singh stressed the need for just distribution of vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic and informed that the Nepal Health Research Council is also studying the effectiveness of the vaccine.

President Bhandari admired the doctors, nurses and health workers who have played a role in the prevention and control of COVID-19.