Health
care services in Nepal are provided by both the public and private sectors,
and yet, the health care facilities, hygiene, nutrition, and sanitation in
Nepal are of poor quality, particularly in the rural areas. Provisions of
health care services are constrained by inadequate government funding. The poor
and excluded have limited access to basic health care facilities due to the
high costs and low availability. Traditional beliefs have also been shown to
play a significant role in the spread of disease in Nepal. The demand for
health services is further lowered by the lack of health education. Additionally,
reproductive health care is neglected, putting women at a disadvantage.
In
its Human Development Report (2009), the UN highlighted a growing social problem
in Nepal with individuals who lack citizenship, are marginalized, and are then denied
access to government welfare benefits.
These
problems have led many governmental and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to
implement communication programs encouraging people to engage in healthy
behaviors, such as family planning, contraceptive use, spousal communication,
safe motherhood practices, use of skilled birth attendants during delivery, and
practice of immediate breastfeeding. These are especially important to
implement in rural areas, as most of the health care issues are largely
attributed to the region's lack of political power and limited resources. Because
most health care services are centered in the capital, Kathmandu, other parts
of Nepal face social and service exclusion.
Therefore,
because of these interventions by the local NGOs and INGOs, it is expected that
the health care services, as compared to the past, in the rural areas will
experience some positive growth. Specifically, the increase in primary health
care services, as well as basic health education programs, are expected to
raise awareness of the benefits of proper health practices in the everyday
lives of these communities.