Here we present data of the Nepali Health System

Here we present data of the Nepali Health System:

To read this information in German see www.nepalmed.de

Population: In Nepal live around 23.4 million people, 44% are younger than 16 years. Average life expectancy is 57.8 years for women and 57.3 years for men. (Germany total population 82.2millions, life expectancy at birth male 73.7 years, female 80.1 years.)

Health System: Nepal does not have an insurance system. Medical treatment is financed privately. In the World Health Report 2000 of the World Health Organisation the country ranks 160 in terms of overall goal attainment among the health systems of the 191 member states and 186 in terms of fairness in financial distribution . Germany ranks 14/ 6.

Access to medical aid is estimated to have 10% of the population.

Access to clean water have 71% of the population.

Without sanitary facilities live 84% of the population.

In 1999 there were the following number of workers registered with the health system: 923 doctors, >5500 nurses, >13000 health workers

Number of hospitals: 83 with 4124 beds

Infant mortality: 7.5%, perinatal mortality of mothers 1.5%

malnourished children: 23%

most common diseases in children: pneumonia, diarrhoe

Vaccination strategies and its success: tuberculosis 100%, DPT (3x) 83%, Polio (3x) 83%, measels 89%

Infectious diseases: Tuberculosis 11400 new sputum positive cases per year, leprosy prevalence 4/10000, visceral leishmaniosis 1340 cases. Germany Tb: incidence <20/100000. 11814 new cases in 1996. (10)

HIV 1305 cases, 265 staged AIDS, prostitutes (sex worker) 309, clients 739, house wife 80, transfusion 2, drug abuse m/f 162/1, perinatal 13. Nearly all of the cases are in the age group between 14 - 40 years. (8,9) Germany: AIDS cases 1996 <1000 (10)

costs: are burried 100% privately. There is no insurance system. Aprox. costs of a scull computed tomography 60 US$, abdominal ultrasound 8US$

Sources:

(1) The World Health Report 2000: Health systems: improving performance. World Health Organization: Geneva, 2000

(2) Nepal`s health system not so reponsive. By Staff reporter of The Rising Nepal. http://www.nepalnews.com, 29.06.2000

(3) Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics, Population census 1991. Kathmandu, 1991

(4) UNDP: Human Development Report 1999. New York 1999

(5) Nepal Ministry of Finance: Economy Survey 1999. Kathmandu 1999

(6) Nepal Ministry of Health: Health Information Bulletin Vol. 10. Kathmandu 1997

(7) Nepal Country Report on the Third Evaluation of the implementation of HFA strategy. 1997

(8) Nepal Ministry of Health, Department of Health Services: Annual Report 2054/2055 (1997/98). Kathmandu, 1999

(9) National Centre for AIDS and STD control. Kathmandu, 31. Juli 1999

(10) Konietzko N, Loddenkemper R: Tuberkulose. Stuttgart; New York: Thieme 1999.

WHO: http://www.who.int;

Weltbank: http://www.worldbank.org

Recently, the New England Journal of Medicine featured an article on the health and nutritional status of Tibetan children at the end of the 20th century. It draws an expectedly dark picture of the matter in this neighbouring country. To some extent the results may be comparable to the situation in Nepal, although the problem of overpopulation is much worse in Nepal. N Engl J Med 2001;344:341-7