IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar today launched a landmark telemedicine service in the country in an effort to boost health care in the the rural areas.

The Prime minister said the service will prove beneficial for the rural population as it would provide comfortable and easy excess to health services to the people living in remote districts.

It has been difficult to take quality and affordable health services by establishing infrastructure due to geographical and technical problem, he said inaugurating the telemedicine service and SAARC telemedicine programme in the capital.

Read more: Nepal launches telemedicine service to boost rural health care

The agricultural sector in Nepal is confronted with the major challenge of increasing production to feed a growing and increasingly prosperous population in a situation of decreasing availability of natural resources. Factors of particular concern are water shortages, declining soil fertility, effects of climate change, rapid decrease of fertile agricultural lands due to urbanization and dislike of the younger generation to involve themselves in agricultural activities. This has made the youths give priority to foreign employment rather that to the agricultural sector which is labour intensive in Nepal’s context. The farmers should be made aware of cash crop cultivation instead of traditional farming of food crops. They should be trained well to sharpen their skills so that agriculture productivity could be increased. The main barrier to achieve this result is unavailability of technical manpower in villages. The service of agriculture experts from the urban areas or district headquarter can be made available even in remote villages virtually at any time through the ICT Information and Communication Technology) Network. New approaches and technical innovations are required to cope with these challenges and to enhance the livelihoods of the farmers. The use of ICT would be a milestone to enhance food security and support rural livelihoods. Agricultural productivity could be increased qualitatively and quantitatively.

Read more: Nepal: Banking on ICT - For increased agricultural productivity

The government has inaugurated telemedicine service for the first time from Friday with an objective to take specialist health services to rural areas.

With this, telemedicine service has now started in district hospitals in 25 mountainous districts across the country. The programme that has been started by the Ministry of Health and Population is expected to benefit rural people who have been deprived of quality health services due to geographical and technical difficulties.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal inaugurated the telemedicine and SAARC telemedicine programme, which will have the Central Coordination Desk at Patan Hoispital, amidst a function in the Capital today and said the service may turn beneficial to provide comfortable and easy excess among the rural people.

Read more: NP: Govt launches telemedicine service

The E-village programme, with the help of wireless computer network, has been launched in the remote villages of Makwanpur to provide local people and students with the access to information, education and health services.

The programme was begun in the initiative of Makwanpur District Development committee in the support of Magsaysay Award winner Mahabir Pun. Constituency Development Program, E-Network Research and Development Nepal and local schools are supporting the program.

The wireless network has been connected with Nepal Telecom's tower, stationed at the top of Mahadev Hill.

Read more: Nepal: Wireless Internet in remote Makwanpur villages