Nepal's top ten public health problems

        Fig: Public health cycle

Public health is the study of safeguarding and working on the strength of individuals and their networks. This work is accomplished by advancing sound ways of life, exploring sickness and injury avoidance, and distinguishing, forestalling, and answering irresistible illnesses. In general, the goal of public health is to safeguard the health of entire populations. These populations can be as small as a neighborhood or as large as an entire nation or region. The top ten public health problems in Nepal are summarized below.

1. Diseases that affect Children 

In Nepal, a lot of children are affected by respiratory and seasonal diarrheal diseases, which can cause death and delay development. As a result of the prevalence of both malnutrition and undernutrition among children, childhood diseases continue to be the top priority for public health in Nepal. The mortality rates of newborns (21 per 1000), infants (32 per 1000), and children under the age of 5 (39 per 1000) continue to be sufficiently high to rank as Nepal's primary public health issue.

2. Problems with water and sanitation 

In Nepal, 38% of households lack improved sanitary facilities.

3. Problems with maternal and perinatal health 

Still, complications like antepartum hemorrhage, postpartum hemorrhage, pre-eclampsia, and eclampsia are not promptly treated in Nepali women who are pregnant or giving birth. This is made even worse by the fact that there aren't enough people and facilities in the country's rural areas. Even though there are tertiary care facilities in big cities, many places in the world don't have them. It can take hours or days to get there, which causes delays in care and can lead to fatal outcomes for many women and children.

4. Sexually transmitted diseases and Other communicable diseases

Tuberculosis is endemic in Nepal. Vector-borne illnesses like jungle fever, Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar), and Dengue, are additionally endemic in specific tropical districts (fields) of Nepal. HIV/AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease that affects a small number of people, particularly sex workers, people who inject drugs through IVs, migrant workers, and their wives.

5. Pandemics and zoonotic diseases 

The majority of pandemics are caused by zoonotic diseases; they contract humans effectively as they are novel and humans are defenseless because of their powerlessness to battle against new infections as they need antibodies and memory cells against such sicknesses. Zoonotic diseases are also brought on by the recent trend of unregulated mass production of poultry and close living conditions with the animals.

6. Non-transmittable sicknesses

The event of non-transmittable sicknesses, for example, hypertension, coronary heart illnesses and other cardiovascular infections, diabetes mellitus, and constant kidney infections have flooded alongside modernization in the way of life. They are driving reasons for mortality and weight of infections.

7. Cataclysmic event and readiness issues

Nepal is consistently in danger of catastrophic events because of its geological/topographical elements. Nepal is in consistent danger of quakes as this lies within the Himalayan reach; Hills and plain residents face the same threat from floods during the rainy seasons. The massive earthquake that occurred in 2015, the numerous landslides that occur regularly, and the annual floods that occur in Nepal's major rivers all contribute to a chaotic situation that necessitates the immediate attention of all sectors, including public health professionals. People in such situations require immediate first aid, safe sanitation and water facilities, food, security, reproductive health services, and mental health counseling and management due to the high risk of injuries, diarrheal disease epidemic, and a lack of water, sanitation, and food. In Nepal, a public health program that includes disaster preparedness and efficient communication channels is essential.

8.  Substance use disorders

Alcoholism-related disorders and liver diseases are very common in these people, but the current health system doesn't give them enough attention. Alcoholism has an impact not only on a person's health but also on their relationships with others, the economy, and their families. In Nepal, smoking and chewing tobacco are also common practices; shisha hookah is laid out as an ongoing pattern among youth. The youth of Nepal are also at risk from other drugs like heroin and marijuana, which pose a threat to public health.

9. Disparity in the health care system 

Despite significant increases in the number of hospitals and health professionals over the past two decades, rural residents and the poor in urban areas lack adequate access to medical care. The difference in medical care access is impacted by various components going from individual credits, for example, obliviousness energized by low training, and low pay; to systematic biases brought about by the policies and system.

10. Psychological well-being Issues

The years-long political contentions, low economy, calamities, expanding social distances, individualistic life approach, high strain for accomplishment, fast urbanization, business abroad, and so on. exasperate the emotional well-being need of the populace.

To address the aforementioned issues, VIN has been implementing a public health and medical care program in three districts of Nepal. Building healthy communities is our public health strategy. We collaborated with community health facilities in the area on this. We do medical care, public health education, health camps, first aid, yoga projects, and school health (with a focus on women and children). General well-being experts and volunteers are involved in the undertaking to meet the objective of the ventures.

   

References

1. Dr. Laxmi Pd Ghimire, Program Manager (Volunteers Initiative Nepal)

2. http://publichealthinnepal.blogspot.com/2017/06/top-ten-public-health-issues-in-nepal.html

3. Nepal Demography Health survey report 2016