Kohalpur to provide sickle cell, thalassemia insurance to patients

By Our Correspondent,Nepalgunj, Apr. 25: In order to facilitate the treatment of sickle cell and thalassemia patients, which are more common in the Tharu community of western Nepal, Kohalpur Municipality is going to provide free health insurance to the patients.

Sangita Subedi, Deputy Mayor of the Municipality, said that the municipality was conducting a sickle cell and thalassemia disease control campaign, along with free health insurance for sickle cell patients from the fiscal year 2080/81 BS.

Subedi said that sickle cell and thalassemia patients have to be treated for the rest of their life and since the treatment is very expensive, most of them die without treatment, and they have to live with the disease. "So, the municipality is providing free health insurance to them," said Subedi. 

Dr. Rajan Pandey, Chief consultant physician and a sickle cell expert of Bheri Hospital, said that the health insurance programme initiated by the Kohalpur Municipality was highly appreciable as the government of Nepal is giving Rs.100,000  as treatment expenses to each sickle cell patient. 

Dr. Pandey said that he had been taking policy initiatives for a long time to include sickle cell and thalassemia patients in the health insurance programme. 

Kohalpur will be the first municipality across the nation to implement the free health insurance programme for the sickle cell and thalassemia patients. 

Among 11,000 sickle cell and thalassemia tests conducted in Kohalpur Municipality, more than 100 were found to be ill with sickle cell and more than 1,000 were found to be carriers of the disease. 

Similarly, 150 thalassemia carriers were also found, according to the Health Branch of Kohalpur Municipality.

According to Anil Sen Thakuri, Head of the Health Branch, sickle cell and thalassemia tests are being continued in the areas where the Tharu community is in majority within the municipality and awareness generating programmes are also being held.

Dipendra Kumar Chaudhary, Ward Chairman of Kohalpur Municipality-15, said that the municipality alone cannot control and treat the diseases, which are growing as a public health problem in the Tharu community, and that the federal government should introduce a special budget and programme to eradicate the diseases.