Burning in the cold

The least the government could do is live up to the promise of providing free healthcare for those who get burned

I don’t usually repost articles, but this one is both timely and important because the solutions are more easily available than for other issues I report on. Please take a minute to inform people you know about this problem or share the post now. Thanks!

Burns are a poverty issue in Nepal. Winter is burns season, because that’s when more people huddle closer to open fires to try and stay warm.

I know that the current government faces immense challenges but if I had its ear, I would urge it to live up to the previous administration’s promise to pay the hospital bills of those who get burned.

Today’s Kathmandu Post reports:

“The erstwhile government had pledged to provide free care to poor burn victims and reimburse treatment costs to the designated hospitals, but most health facilities have complained that they have not received reimbursements, and patients have been forced to pay costly treatment charges.”

As I wrote in my article below from March, another large chunk of burn victims are women who cook on floors near the fire: their scarves or other loose clothing get caught in the flames.

Another reason this is a poverty issue is that skilled medical care for burns is rarely available outside of Kathmandu. Those who are burned have to pay travel bills, and the costs for a family member or friend to travel with them.

Often, they decide that’s too expensive, and get sub-standard care locally, which can worsen their injuries, or no care at all.