A total of 40 public health facilities, including health posts, primary health centres and a hospital, that were destroyed in the earthquakes last year have been rebuilt so far, according to the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP).

These facilities have been already have already started delivering services, added the ministry.

The facilities were built with the support from various development partners in worst affected districts including Sindhupalchok, Ramechhap, Gorkha and Kathmandu among others.

Mahendra Shrestha, chief of Policy, Planning and International Cooperation Division at the MoHP, said all these 40 facilities, which have been built with prefabricated materials, have begun providing services.

“An additional 60 health centres will be handed over by the end of this month,” said Shrestha. On Monday too, Dharmasthali Health Post in Kathmandu was handed over amid a ceremony attended by Chief Secretary Som Lal Subedi.

Among the destroyed facility, Chautara hospital is providing services from a new prefabricated building. Construction of a prefab building for Ramechhap hospital has also been completed.

According to the MoHP, 474 health facilities had either collapsed or sustained structural damage needing a complete overhaul.

Over 80 percent of these destroyed facilities that include hospitals, primary health care centres and health posts are based in 14 districts that were worst hit by the earthquake.

According to MoHP estimates, over Rs 6 billion was lost.

The MoHP, however, is still struggling to reconstruct

270 health posts that were housed in rooms made available by local government or community.

The problem of land acquisition has also affected reconstruction of health facilities which are first point of care at the community level. These health facilities are based in Bhaktapur, Dhading, Gorkha, Dolakha, Kathmandu, Kavrepalanchok, Lalitpur, Makawanpur, Nuwakot, Okhaldhunga, Ramechhap, Rasuwa, Sindhuli and Sindhupalchok districts.

“We are working with other line ministries to deal with the issue,” said Shrestha.