KATHMANDU: Human Rights Organisation of Nepal on Sunday submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Health and Population, expressing concern about the government's apathy towards controlling the diarrhoeal outbreak in the mid-western region of the country.

Sudip Pathak, president of HURON, urged the government to take an initiative to send medical teams from regional headquarters and Kathmandu for emergency treatment in every VDC of the affected areas.

"The government should take the responsibility of providing compensation to the families of the deceased and special provisions for children whose parents died due to the disease," said Pathak.

He also urged the government to take strong action against health workers unwilling to take up their duties as assigned by the government. "The government should also create a 'national fund' for combating such emergencies and crises and should provide free health services and facilities in such cases," he added. He also emphasised the need to organise awareness campaigns to educate people about the importance of clean drinking water and sanitation.

Talking to The Himalayan Times, he expressed concern about the conditions in diarrhoea-hit areas and the rising death toll and the number of patients. "The negligence of the government has shown that the govt has no presence in the remote areas," said Pathak. He said the cause of the outbreak was lack of proper infrastructure, adequate health facilities and proper sanitation in the remote and geographically challenging areas.

He added that they would submit another memorandum to Sujata Koirala, minister for foreign affairs, urging her to seek the support of international community to control the outbreak.