Nepal

Kathmandu, July 22

Although the Parliament endorsed the Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Right Act, one-and-a-half-years ago, many women in the country have not been able to enjoy their rights due to lack of regulations and other by-laws.

A woman whose reproductive health rights are violated should be given appropriate compensation by the perpetrator, but this has not been possible mainly due to lack of regulations.

The act has the provision for appropriate technology and process of abortion service, but many women in the country have been deprived of this service too. The act also states that non-governmental and private health institutions meeting the standard prescribed by the Government of Nepal should provide obstetric care in a dignified manner, but this also has not been possible.

&Delay in making regulations has created confusion regarding standards,& said Purna Shrestha, regional manager of Centre for Reproductive Rights.

The act also has the provision for safe motherhood and newborn care. The act states that non-governmental and private health institutions meeting the standard set by the Government of Nepal should provide emergency obstetric and newborn care.

The health institutions providing emergency obstetric and newborn care should have separate rooms for pregnant women to rest.

The act has also not clearly defined family planning services. The act states that the service related to family planning should be provided as prescribed.

But no standards have been stated in the act. &Government standard will be mentioned in regulations,& Shrestha added.

The new act allows women to have abortion up to 12 weeks after pregnancy, but in the case of rape and incest, women are allowed to have abortion till 28 weeks of pregnancy.

The new penal code, however, allows women to have abortion after 18 weeks of pregnancy in case of rape and incest. &It is not clear which provision — the one in the penal code or SMRHRA — will be implemented. So a proper regulation should be made to handle such serious issues.

We are unclear about which act should be followed as the laws in the new penal code and SMRHRA contradict, said Sabin Shrestha, executive director of Forum for Women, Law and Development.

Though health practitioners are providing abortion services, there are possibilities of emergence of problems if complications occur or some unfortunate incident takes place during the process. Disputes are likely to occur if regulations and guidelines are not drafted on time,& said Aruna Uprety, a public health specialist.

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Kathmandu, July 22

Chargee d&affaires German Embassy Claudia Hiepe today said that social protection was a must for sustainable economic development and poverty alleviation.

Speaking during a programme, Hiepe said due to changing living conditions, growing social inequalities and social risks, the social protection system was gaining popularity in the world.

&They need to save people from hardship, cushion the blow caused by personal crises or financial problems, strengthen on a permanent basis the capacity of the poor people to help themselves, and support people living in extreme poverty and those unable to support themselves so as to enable them to lead a life of human dignity,& she said.

She also added that social protection systems thus contribute very directly and effectively to preventing and reducing poverty, they promote social cohesion and help to maintain stability and peace in a country.

&We want social protection to help those farthest behind first. In that sense, it is not surprising that social protection has found its way into the sustainable development goals. Social protection underlines the core idea of the 2030 agenda that no one should be left behind,& she said. &Today we have come together to explore the current social protection arrangement in Nepal and shed some light on future directions Nepal may undertake to expand social protection. We have also dived deeper to understand institutional set-ups and identify the scope for integration and harmonisation. These discussions were complemented by lessons on social protection reform from India, Pakistan and Malawi,& she added.

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