Serious burn incidents in Nepal have been all too visible in the past one month. On February 6, a gas explosion at a momo restaurant in Kamalpokhari, Kathmandu, injured 11 people, and has led to four deaths as of this writing. More recently, at the inaugural event of the Pokhara Visit Year 2025, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel and Pokhara Metropolitan City mayor Dhanraj Acharya, among others, sustained injuries when the hydrogen-filled balloons they were to release caught fire.

These incidents, however, are the tip of the iceberg, as burns and related injuries are extremely common in Nepali households and are the second most common injuries in rural areas, contributing to 5 percent of disabilities, according to the World Health Organisation. Similarly, as per another study, more than 40,000 people in the country suffer from burns each year, with between 1,500 to 2,000 dying, while the country’s Health Ministry estimates the number of injuries to be 55,000. Burn incidents rise when mercury dips, and people turn to heaters and firewood to stay warm. Liquified petroleum gas (LPG), a common cooking fuel in Nepali kitchens, is a big contributor. Yet amid the rising incidents of burn injuries and deaths, there is a serious shortage of healthcare institutions—both public and private—to treat burn sufferers.

During winter, burn patients outnumber available beds at the Nepal Cleft Burn Centre in Kirtipur, the country’s only specialised burn hospital providing expert care. In January last year, the hospital had to convert general wards into burn units and add beds to manage the high influx. Hospital officials highlight the rising number of burn cases each year, as in the fiscal year 2022-23 alone, 790 burn patients were admitted. The number was 660 and 623 in 2021 and 2019, respectively. The burden of patients from across the country falls disproportionately upon the Kirtipur burn centre. Experts point to the necessity of close observation and care for burn victims, as such burns can affect multiple body parts and organs. Even a minor injury can be fatal if not treated properly. As such, other healthcare centres are ill-equipped for such a delicate task.

Nepal also falls short on prevention, awareness and primary health care for fire burns. A recent Post report suggests most restaurants and eateries in the federal capital have not adopted fire safety measures. Similar negligence can be seen in households, where LPG cylinders are kept too close to fire stoves, and bonfires are left unattended near inflammable objects. Fire extinguishers are also not the norm in many public spaces. However, mitigating these dangers—just like upgrading the burn care facilities and increasing the number of hospitals—does not appear to be a government priority.