With this, almost all VDCs across the country will have at least one health posts as the number of such health facilities is now over 3,500.

Earlier, the MoHP had forwarded the proposal to the Ministry of General Administration as the latter has to endorse the new posts of health workers in case the Cabinet upgrades the sub-health posts, according to Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, MoHP joint-secretary.

The government in 2010/11 initiated a plan to upgrade 500 sub-health posts as health posts each year. The sub-health posts were established in all VDCs and one Primary Health Care Centre (PHCC) was set up in each electoral constituency by upgrading existing health posts as part of the National Health Policy 1991 that envisioned providing health care to rural population. The sub-health posts remain ground-level health institutions followed by health posts, PHCCs, district hospitals and zonal hospitals.

A health post, as per the existing provisions, has a Health Assistant (HA), two Auxiliary Health Workers (AHW), two Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANM) and a helper. The HA remains the head of the health post while AHWs run sub-health posts.

The MoHP’s move also comes in the wake of an ambitious target set by Nepal Health Policy 2014 which envisions keeping a doctor and a nurse in each VDC and a nurse midwife in each ward. The policy also states that the government will establish at least one health centre in each village in accordance with the population and geographical location while primary health care centres will be established in areas with 20,000 populations.

Similarly, the policy has proposed the establishment of a 25-bed hospital in an area with 100,000 people.

Despite government plans, experts say these new health posts will take many years until they meet the actual standards. “The upgrading of these health institutions is solely a political stunt to make party cadres happy,” said Dr Yasobardhan Pradhan, a public health expert. “None of the sub-health posts that were upgraded in the past have met standards. Neither have these health facilities infrastructures nor human resources to serve people.”