KATHMANDU: Health Minister Pradeep Paudel has blamed Cabinet inaction for stalling efforts to expand Nepal’s health workforce.

Speaking in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Paudel said he submitted proposals three times since taking office to increase staffing, but none were approved.

He revealed that federal hospitals currently have only 2,600 staff nationwide, with many hospitals outside the Kathmandu Valley operating with less than one-third of needed personnel.

“Since 1991, there has been no proper Organization and Management (O&M) survey in the health ministry,” he said.
A recent ministry survey projected a need for 90,000 additional health workers — 60,000 for local-level hospitals, 15,000 each for federal and provincial levels. Of that, 30,000 posts were targeted for this fiscal year, but the proposal was not approved.

Paudel also criticized the weak enforcement of staff transfers, noting doctors often refuse to go to remote postings. “Transfer orders are ignored,” he said, citing Dadeldhura where only one permanent doctor serves out of 11 sanctioned posts.

He warned that without sufficient staffing, Nepal cannot respond effectively to disasters and called for strengthening hospital capacity across the country, including in the Kathmandu Valley.