Essential vaccines, medicines missing from Nepal's health facilities for months

Patients throughout Nepal are being denied essential vaccines, medicines, and health supplements as persistent procurement and supply chain problems leave government health facilities critically depleted. The shortages affect a range of vital supplies, from iron and folic acid supplements crucial for pregnant women, new mothers, and adolescent girls, to life-saving anti-snake venom for victims of venomous bites.

Facilities have also long reported a lack of anti-rabies vaccines, and the government has yet to fully immunize vulnerable groups against Japanese encephalitis, a concern heightened by the ongoing monsoon season which typically sees an increase in mosquito-borne diseases. While the scarcity of anti-rabies vaccines has recently eased, other essential vaccines are likely to remain in short supply for an extended period.

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The responsibility for supplying iron and folic acid lies with the federal government. But federal agencies have not yet supplied us with the supplements. So almost all health facilities in our province are without iron and folic acid.

In Bagmati province, for example, health facilities have been without iron and folic acid supplements for months, leaving thousands without access to the government's free supply. Officials from Bhaktapur Hospital and Trishuli Hospital have contacted the Provincial Health Logistics Management Centre in Hetauda seeking these supplements, but the center itself has been out of stock. "The responsibility for supplying iron and folic acid lies with the federal government," stated Basanta Adhikari, director of the center, noting that federal agencies have not yet provided the necessary supplements.

The disruption extends to other critical commodities. "We have not had a single dose of anti-snake venom for over a month," reported Ujjwal Yadav, information officer at the Provincial Health Logistics Management Centre in Madhesh. Hospitals and treatment centers in the region are constantly requesting the venom, but the center has no stock. This shortage is particularly alarming as it occurs during the peak snakebite season, with at least 60 deaths and over 837 hospitalizations reported since mid-May.

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We have not had a single dose of anti-snake venom for over a month. Hospitals and snakebite treatment centres in our province keep calling us for anti-snake venom, but we have no stock. Chief district officers in Dhanusha and Siraha had also contacted us for supplies, but all we could do was tell them sorry.