War-displaced people
Kohalpur, September 29:
An epidemic has broken out in a camp for people displaced by violence at Kiranlal, Rajhena village development committee-3 of Banke district for the past few weeks. The displaced people there are suffering from diarrhoea, typhoid and other waterborne diseases, a health worker said. “I examine the health of some 50-60 patients everyday and many of them are found to be suffering from typhoid, fever and skin diseases,” said Manjan Shahi, an assistant health worker (AHW), who has been providing free health service for the conflict-displaced people living at the camp. Recently, the Himalayan Foundation had provided medicines worth Rs 165, 000, but there is a lack of proper management, Shahi said.
Disruption of food supply to the displaced people for a long time has further aggravated their problems. Most of the displaced people living in the camp are from Mugu, Jajarkot, Dailekh, Salyan, Humla and Jumla districts of western Nepal. At least one member of the 216 families living in the camps has fallen sick, Shahi said. The epidemic has mostly affected the children due to lack of cleanliness and the camp-dwellers have no money to visit a hospital located just two kilometres away. Various non-government organisations are rendering different services at the camp but none are engaged in health services, a person living in the camp said.