Ultrasound Services for Rural Areas in Humla Suspended for Four Months, Pregnant Women in Distress

Nepal Health News, Humla – Pregnant women in rural areas have expressed their concerns as they have been unable to get their ultrasound services for the past four months. This service, which is supposed to be provided every two months, was also unavailable last December, according to the complaints from pregnant women.

Dhanshoba Bohora, a pregnant woman from Simkot Municipality-2, mentioned that she has not been able to get her ultrasound done for the past four months. She expressed worry as she has not been able to know the condition of her baby, a service that had been provided previously but is not available this time. Simkot Municipality had previously committed to providing rural ultrasound services every two months.

She stated that the failure to continue the service that had already been initiated reflects a weakness on the part of the concerned authorities. She urged for the immediate resumption of this service. She also mentioned that, like her, there are several other pregnant women at her health post who have not been able to receive ultrasound services.

Similarly, the Burgaun Health Post in Ward No. 2 has two pregnant women who also have not been able to get their ultrasound. Santosh Bohora, the head of the Dandafaya Health Post in Ward No. 7, confirmed that ultrasound services for pregnant women in his area had also been halted. He stated that there are 18 pregnant women under his health post.

To avoid the inconvenience of having to travel to the district for every ultrasound, he suggested that the nursing staff at health posts be trained to carry out ultrasounds, so the service can be resumed. Lavi Rawat, the head of the Syanda Health Post in Ward No. 8, also mentioned that the ultrasound service has been unavailable, and there have been increasing complaints from pregnant women. There are currently 11 pregnant women registered at that health post.

Narbahadur Bhandari, the head of the health branch of Simkot Municipality, explained that the suspension of the ultrasound service was due to a shortage of trained staff. He assured that efforts are being made to manage human resources, and the ultrasound service will be resumed immediately.