Nepal on way to achieving health MDG
We often talk about the Millennium Devel-opment Goals (MDGs). But I am not sure if the common people understand it. Explaining MDGs is our first concern. MDGs are eight in number, which all 191 UN member states have agreed to try to achieve by 2015. Signed in September 2000, the goals ask world leaders to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women.
In Nepal, some indicators show we are on the way to achieving the health MDG. If the present rate of achievement continues, we will meet other related challenges too.
We are proud that we have already achieved the target of reducing the number of children who won’t be seeing their fifth birthday, that is the under-five mortality rate. The death of infants per 1000 live births, that is infant mortality rate, has also decreased significantly, as shown by the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2011.
We are sure we will meet other targets as well. A World Health Organization report published on Tuesday shows that fewer newborns are dying worldwide, but the progress is slow. Therefore, it is high time we geared up better. We are holding a series of consultation meetings, which will direct our future working style and areas we need aggressive intervention. I have been responding to queries about the decline in the use of contraceptives after the NDHS-2011 was out. As the report shows that the use of contraceptives such as condoms has decreased, many people have started expressing their concern whether we can meet all the MDGs. However, we can relate the decline mainly to the hordes of Nepalis leaving for works abroad. When spouses are not together, the use of contraceptives obviously declines.
Family planning is a very successful programme worldwide so the focus of donors has been gradually shifting to other important issues than family planning and this too has hit the programme. There is also a chance that couples might have returned to the traditional methods of birth control.
We have heard that abortion rate has increased significantly over the past few years in Nepal. This further suggests the decline in contraceptive use.
But there is nothing to worry about as women today prefer two children to many. This is, however, not to say we will not work on it. We will and we need to.
Another target that people believe Nepal cannot meet is the proportion of births attended by skilled midwives. We are hopeful that we can achieve this because the percentage of births attended by trained midwives has doubled over the last five years—from 19 in 2006 to 36 in 2011—while that of babies delivered in a health facility has increased from 18 in 2006 to 28 in 2011.
We are working hard and we are serious about improving each indicator of the health MDG. I am very hopeful that our efforts will yield expected outcomes by 2015.
(As told by the Director of Family Health Division at the Department of Health Services to Manish Gautam of the Post)
Posted on: 2011-09-04 07:51
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