ITAHARI: Health workers in the eastern region have announced a stir against the government laxity to take up necessary measures to tackle swine flu.

More than 5,000 health workers have joined the stir at the call of All Nepal Progressive Health Workers’ Association. They have also put forth professional demands.

Organising a press conference in Duhabi, ANPHWA eastern coordinator Kundan Kumar Das said Nepal was susceptible to swine flu considering the lack of well-managed health desk on the border with India.

“The government hasn’t taken seriously our call to be watchful on the deadly disease, forcing us to agitate,” Das said. “Our protest will continue as long as it takes to set the government on action to protect the people’s health.”

They said the government was trying to end the free distribution of medicine to public health centres.

The health practitioners have also accused the Eastern Regional Health Directorate of flouting the health ministry decision to stop reckless transfers. They have concluded that the government was not serious about controlling diarrhoea in Jajarkot, Rukum and other mid-western districts.

Special package for doctors deployed in the epidemic-hit areas, besides relief for the diarrhoea-hit has also been demanded. The medics have asked the government to make public the total expenditure of responding to the epidemic.

The protest to commence on Monday includes staging sit-in, corner assembly and chanting slogans in the RHD and the District Health Offices.

Similar programmes will be held in the ministry and Department of Health. Interaction

with stakeholders will be held until the fourth week of September in the first phase, to be followed by tougher protest if their concerns are not addressed, said ANPHWA central member, Ramdev Yadav.