Primary healthcare

It demands not just emergency medical resources, but long-term planning – from urban infrastructure to water governance – to break the cycle of mosquito-borne disease.

If the push to convert the PTA into an FTA succeeds, both countries could significantly expand trade volumes – unlocking new opportunities.

As Nepal moves further into the post-monsoon season, the health sector faces a precarious balance. On one side are the improving weather conditions and fading monsoon rains; on the other, the remnants of mosquito-friendly conditions – standing water, warm afternoons, high humidity – that sustain dengue transmission.

In 2008, Nepal recorded 97 deaths; since then, annual fatalities have ranged between 6 and 32. But experts caution that the real numbers, especially in remote areas with limited surveillance, are likely higher.

In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, many tribal residents of Paatalkot voiced frustration that successive governments had built health centres in name only.

This was the first major disaster to strike since the Trump administration suspended US foreign aid to Afghanistan in January. While Washington released statements of sympathy, it has made no formal pledge of direct financial assistance to quake relief.

Combined, malaria and malnutrition constitute a “double health burden” that traps the most vulnerable – especially children under five years of age – in a deadly cycle.