Voicing serious concerns over the increasing number of COVID-19 fatalities and the shortage of essential medical services including ICU beds, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal has urged the Government of Nepal (GoN) to safeguard citizens’ right to life and the right to health care by addressing public health problems and humanitarian issues as soon as possible.
According to the Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal (MoHP), with another 145 fatalities on May 16, the total COVID-19 death toll in Nepal has reached 5,001.
Advising that many people had died due to the lack of oxygen and beds at several hospitals across the country in recent weeks and that many private hospitals in Kathmandu valley have refused to admit COVID-19 patients, the press statement issued on May 15 by the NHRC reads, “As many as 33 COVID patients had lost their lives in Kathmandu, Rupandehi, and Banke districts of Nepal last week purely due to lack of oxygen. Citizens across the country are succumbing to deaths due to lack of oxygen as the government has failed to ensure the supply of essential medical logistics.” Hospitals are also found to be charging excessive fees, the statement adds.
Reminding the government that the right to health is guaranteed by the constitution of Nepal, the NHRC has urged the authorities in Nepal to honor their responsibilities to ensure access to health services.
- A total of 7,316 new cases of COVID-19 infections were registered within the last 24 hours and total infections have now reached 455,020
- The number of antigen tests confirming positive cases in the last 24 hours stands at 52
- The total infections from both RT-PCR and antigen tests amounted to 7,368 in the last 24 hours
- So far 339,756 people have recovered from COVID-19 in Nepal
- In Nepal, the recovery rate from the disease stands at 74.7%
- The active COVID-19 case count in Nepal stands at 110,263
- As many as 701 individuals are quarantined across the country
The NHRC has stated that even a year after the onset of the pandemic, people of Nepal are still losing their lives due to a lack of oxygen as there has been no meaningful initiative from the GoN to increase the supply of oxygen. It is significant that the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Nepal in March last year when many countries had already been suffering from the pandemic. The NHRC has stated that the GoN’s current efforts are not adequate enough to control the outbreak resulting in a deteriorating human rights situation.
Observing that the government has not fulfilled its commitment towards zero hunger during the lockdown as thousands of poor people and laborers have been deprived of their livelihoods, the NHRC has also urged that COVID-19 vaccines are procured and that citizens are vaccinated immediately in order to prevent further fatalities. It has also urged the GoN to consider the morale of health workers and security personnel as a priority and to manage the necessary livelihood programs for low-paid workers.
The constitution of Nepal states that every citizen has the right to seek basic health care services from the state and no citizen will be deprived of emergency health care. It also guarantees that everyone will have the right to be informed about his/her health condition with regard to health care services. Additionally, section 3 of the Public Health Service Act (2018) of Nepal guarantees citizens’ rights to enjoy free basic health services in relation to communicable diseases.
