Kathmandu, April 3

The Government Doctors’ Association of Nepal has once again threatened to halt all the health services, except for emergency, throughout the country from Friday.

An emergency meeting held by GODAN today took a decision to this effect after stating that the government failed to address their demands related with their adjustment in the federal structure.

Claiming that the government decision of adjusting the doctors at the health facilities of rural and urban areas was biased, the government doctors have announced the protest programme to exert pressure on the government to address their demands.

According to GODAN, the doctors will halt health services in all the districts, except in the storm - hit districts — Bara and Parsa.

“The employee adjustment list made public by the government is biased. There are hardly 14 doctors in Karnali and Far-west Provinces combined together, while majority of the doctors have been adjusted in Province 2 and 3,” said Dr Dipendra Pandey, president of GODAN.

GODAN is demanding that the adjustment program of the doctors be handled by the central government. “The government is not implementing the agreement reached with us. We are ready to work in rural areas if the government agrees to fulfil our demands,” Dr Pandey said. “Only few doctors have been sent to the far-flung Karnali and Far-west province. This will deprive the people of these provinces of quality health services,” he added.

Earlier too, the government doctors had halted health services, but they called off the protest programme after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli promised to address their demands.