KATHMANDU: Dr Bijay Thapa has been elected the Chair of Nepalese Association of Paediatric Surgeons.

The eighth AGM of the Society elected a 10-member leadership headed by Dr Thapa. The newly elected executive committee comprises Dr Nripesh Rajbhandari (vice-president), Dr Dinesh Koirala (general secretary), Dr Jasmine Bajracharya (secretary), Dr Bal Mukund Basnet (treasurer), and Dr Shirish Silwal (joint-treasurer).

Similarly, Dr Hiramani Pathak, Dr Nishant Singh, Dr Anu Maharjan and Dr Sulochana Dahal are the members elected on the committee. The Association that was established in 2015 AD is presently the body of 35 paediatric surgeons.

As Dr Thapa said, the number of pediatric surgeons is so limited in Nepal and even the available workforce face the crisis of job securities. “

Due to the shortage of required size of specialists concerned, expected achievements in the field of pediatric surgery remain unmet,” he said, urging the state to invest in the production of paediatric surgeons and ensure that each province have access to such specialists.