Kathmandu, 28 August 2020: After receiving the public grievances regarding the denial of treatment of a pregnant woman infected with Covid-19 by provincial as well as other hospitals in Province 5, a team of more than 12 women human rights defenders from Rupandehi, led by advocate Indira Acharya of Advocacy Forum-Nepal submitted a memorandum to the Social Development Minister, Sudarshan Baral on 20 August 2020. Stating that lack of attention from the Provincial Government regarding emergency services including delivery service for pregnant women, is indeed disgraceful to all women. The team urged Minister Baral to arrange such services within 24 hours. Accepting the Memorandum, Minister Baral stated that it is not possible to arrange the services within 24 hours as the pregnant woman infected with Covid-19 may need to undergo surgery which as per the Protocol related to Covid-19 requires higher level services and such services can be mandated by the Central Government only. He further clarified that Provincial Government requires permission from the Central Government to resume such services, making it time-consuming at present. However, he assured that the Provincial Government is serious about this issue and will regulate the services to avoid any immediate problems regarding the treatment.
As of 28 August, the Provincial Government has taken a decision to provide surgery related services to the pregnant women infected with Covid-19 at Kohalpur Medical Hospital in Banke district. (See the Memorandum in Nepali below):
