KATHMANDU, JANUARY 4
Health-related equipment received in grants from different donor agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic has become useless.
Dr. Sarbesh Sharma, the Director of the Management Division of the Department of Health Services, stated that the medical equipment is now redundant as there are currently no coronavirus patients in the country.
"There is no infection of coronavirus in the country. Different donor agencies had provided health-related equipment for the prevention and treatment of coronavirus during the COVID-19 pandemic," he mentioned.
Sharma shared that some donor agencies had provided health equipment without demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Surendra Chaurasiya, Chief of the Supply Branch of the Division, informed that 218 health appliances have become useless. Among them, 91 ventilators, 46 portable ventilators, 13 ICU units, and 11 anesthesia workstations have become obsolete.
Various donor agencies had provided 1,445 health equipment during the coronavirus pandemic. Director Sharma added that there was high demand for such equipment during the coronavirus outbreak, and currently, the equipment is not installed due to a lack of physical infrastructure.
Preparations are underway to bring such equipment into use by relocating them to other places, he said.
