Siraha, July 28

All the health posts under Naraha Rural Municipality are reeling under acute medicine crunch in Siraha.

The medicine shortage started after controversy emerged in the procurement process.

Health Department Chief Ram Prasad Yadav said the buying process was delayed due to dispute among people’s representatives, the health department and the administration. He said there was lack of coordination among these sectors.

“We have been taking initiatives to facilitate the process, but it is getting delayed due to the dispute,” he said. Yadav added that necessary medicines would reach the health facilities after the process was completed.

The rural municipality’s chief administrative officer Sumintra Lama said medicines were bought at the end of the fiscal due to some problems. “COVID-19 added some problems and there were some problems already there in the rural municipality,” said Lama.

Lama said medicines could not be distributed to health organisations as some of the medicines were yet to reach the rural municipality.

“We will distribute the drugs soon,” he added.

Acting Chief of Naraha Health Post Arun Kumar Yadav said shortage of medicines had hit patients hard.

He said that the health facility lacked even medicines for minor ailments.

There are four health posts and one basic health centre in the rural municipality.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 29, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.