KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel has said that the educational activities have been seriously affected in 20 districts -- mainly Bara, Parsa, Rautahat, Siraha, Mahottari, Dhanusha and Sarlahi -- of Tarai-Madhes region, affecting the future of total 3.476 million children there.

The Minister said this while unveiling a white paper titled 'Country's Current Economic Situation and Immediate Future Course of Nepal Government' here on Tuesday.

Owing to the continued protests in the Tarai-Madhes and disruption of supply arrangements in the border, the future of 1.1 million children of child development centre, as many as 7.54 million students from grade 1 to 12 and 652,000 students pursuing higher-level education have been affected, reads the white paper.

The paper further stated that the institutional and community schools based in Kathmandu Valley have also been affected due to transport inconvenience.

Likewise, the government has noted that the situation has emerged in a way to affect the printing of textbooks meant to distribute to 7.2 million children freely in the coming educational year which is likely to deny their access to reading materials.

In addition, it is also likely to affect actions towards attaining goals and objectives of the School Sector Reform Programme and cause big loss to educational achievements of the country.

The prolonged struggle in Tarai-Madhes has forced closure of many health facilities, disrupted delivery of health service and caused inconvenience to lactating mothers, newborn babies, children and ageing people to reach hospital as and when needed, the document noted.

The life-saving medicines and blood is visibly shortage in the market; emergency transplant of human organs has been significantly cut down, basic immunisation service to the children has been immoderately affected and serious humanitarian crisis is likely to emerge with disruption of nutrition programme.

The white paper has pointed out that the substantial achievements made so far in the health sector are likely to be in sorry state of affairs.

The transport service, waste collection and disposal is to be badly affected causing negative impact on public health with the possible outbreak of epidemics, the white paper stated.