National Medical College (NMC), the umbrella body of Nepali doctors, has warned of stern nationwide protests if the government didn’t revoke the affiliation granted to National Medical College (NMC).

“If government turns a deaf ear to our warning, we will be forced to resort to the protest that could lead to shutdown of health institutions and the government will have to take the responsibility for the resulting situation,” NMA president Dr Muktiram Shrestha told the Post.

“The act of granting affiliation to medical colleges that are not popular, run on an apartment and established without adequate infrastructures,” said Dr Shrestha. “The government should scrap the affiliation. It’s the height of irresponsibility.”

NMA said that granting affiliation to new medical college in the Valley, at a time when Dr KC has been staging hunger strike, against all agreements reached with NMA and Dr KC, shows the government’s irresponsible nature toward country’s medical sector.

The NMA is worried about the future of medical service in the country due to the government’s prejudiced view on medical education while it is itself a responsible body for ensuring quality service to its citizens.

Dr Shrestha said that NMA has one voice against state’s such negligent nature.

Dr Govinda KC, a senior orthopedic surgeon at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), has already staged 11 hunger strikes demanding reforms in the country’s medical education and healthcare sector.

One of his key demands is moratorium in affiliation to new medical colleges in Kathmandu valley with an objective to decentralise the medical services in remote parts of the country as well.

Dr KC raised this demand since his second hunger strike following which the government penned deal with National Medical Association, an umbrella organisation of doctors in Nepal, and Dr Govinda KC, that no affiliations will granted to medical colleges in Kathmandu Valley for ten years.

But the deal remained confined to only papers. Government violated this agreement and on July 27 TU Executive Council granted affiliation to National Medical College (NMC).

Expressing serious reservations over the Tribhuvan University’s “secret” move to grant affiliation to the new medical college in Kathmandu, Dr Govinda KC, on Sunday warned of stern protests including yet another hunger strike if the decision is not scrapped.