Birgunj: A meeting of the District Health Crisis Management Committee held on Sunday has decided not to approve the leave of health workers except for essential cases in view of the cholera outbreak in Birgunj. The meeting was presided over by the Acting Chief District Officer, Suman Kumar Karki, who decided to deploy health workers from local levels in a centralized way after the detection of cholera in some areas of the city.
According to National News Agency Nepal, Minister for Health and Population of Madesh Province, Satrudhan Prasad Singh, also attended the meeting. Acting CDO Karki shared that all stakeholders will be coordinated for the control and prevention of the cholera outbreak. Distribution, management, and logistics received from the federal and province governments would be managed by the District Health Crisis Management Committee.
The local level authorities are tasked with investigating the source of the infection, while the federal and provincial governments will provide technical assistance for this. Meanwhile, a meeting of the central security committee, chaired by Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, decided to mobilize a team of medical practitioners in the cholera-hit Birgunj city. He directed line agencies to ensure immediate deployment of these teams, and instructed the Nepali Army, Nepal Police, and Armed Police Force to pay adequate attention to the situation.
Further discussions on controlling and preventing the cholera outbreak were held by Minister for Health and Population, Pradip Paudel, and Minister for Drinking Water, Pradip Yadav. Arrangements have been made for the immediate and free treatment of cholera patients at both public and private hospitals in Birgunj.