Kathmandu, April 6: Nepal’s obstetricians and gynecologists have stressed the need to enhance the quality of obstetric and reproductive health care services in Nepal.
Some 500 medical professionals from both domestic and international spheres gathered at the 17th National Conference of the Nepal Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (NESOG), which commenced on Friday.
Dr. Saroja Karki Pandey, President of the Society, said that the event representatives discussed valuable medical practices aimed at improving the status of women’s healthcare.
Lawmaker Pro Dr Chanda Karki said the two-day event is expected to serve as a platform for sharing new findings, technologies, and practices in women’s health care and implementing them to uplift the status of women’s health in Nepal.
Director General of the Department of Health Services, Dr Sangita Kaushal Mishra, praised efforts undertaken to improve the status of Nepali women’s health, underlining the need for more action to secure expected achievements. Though data shows progress in women’s healthcare, more efforts are required in the area and the government prioritizes this need, according to her.
She underlined the need to increase access of women from indigent communities to healthcare.
The event is themed “Advances in Women’s Health Care Now and Beyond”.
According to Society’s former President Dr Laxmi Nani Shrestha, it is mandated to see improvement in the status of women’s health to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. “Despite the reduction in maternal mortality to 151 per 100,000 live births in 2022 from 639 in 1996, there remains a lack of access to quality healthcare services for women,” she said, underscoring the urgency to implement advanced skills in this sector.
Nepal grapples with a substantial gap in the doctor-to-patient ratio as a significant number of health professionals from the country opt to work abroad, it is said.
The seminar witnessed the presentations of working papers on women’s health and it was attended by participants from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the United States, and Australia. Established in 1989, the Society said its efforts aim to uplift the status of women’s health. #nepal
