Madhyapur Thimi, Dec 19:

Local Development Ministry and Health Ministry needed to work together with better management for providing effective health services in the rural areas, said Local Development Minister Ram Chandra Jha here today. Minister Jha, speaking at the hand over ceremony of Korea-Nepal Friendship Hospital (KNFH), said, “We will hold meetings in the secretary and ministry levels in order to develop plans and policies for achieving the goal.”

Dr Sudha Sharma, secretary at the HM, said that it was their main concern to formulate policies for facilitating health centres of the remote parts of the country.

Korean Ambassador to Nepal Hong Sungmog handed over the hospital formally to Madhyapur Thimi Municipality amid a function. Addressing the programme, envoy Hong said Korean government extended its support to establish the hospital, realising that people of this area were facing problems in getting the medical services easily due to the rapid increase of population in the municipality.

Korean government provided the assistance of Rs 110 million for the construction of the 50-bed hospital with sophisticated equipment and all the necessary services, including an ambulance in the hospital.

He said hospital management and medical services are more important than equipment and physical infrastructure and added that Korean government would continue to provide support for Nepal through Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) as the development assistant programme.