Health of Nepal

Public health and health care services in Nepal are provided by both the public and private sector and fares poorly by international standards. According to 2011 census, more than one third (38.17%) of the total households do not have toilet in their houses. Tap/Piped water is the main source of drinking water for 47.78% of the total households. Tube well/hand pump is the main source of drinking water for about 35% of the total households, while spout, uncovered well/kuwa and covered well/kuwa are the main source for 5.74%, 4.71% and 2.45% respectively. Based on 2010 World Health Organisation (WHO) data, Nepal ranked 139 in life expectancy in 2010 with the average Nepalese living to 65.8 years.
Disease prevalence is higher in Nepal than it is in other South Asian countries, especially in rural areas. Leading diseases and illnesses include diarrhea, gastrointestinal disorders, goiter, intestinal parasites, leprosy, visceral leishmaniasis and tuberculosis. About 4 out of 1,000 adults aged 15 to 49 had human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and the HIV prevalence rate was 0.5%. Malnutrition also remains very high: about 47% of children under 5 are stunted, 15 percent wasted, and 36 percent underweight, although there has been a declining trend for these rates over the past five years, they remain alarmingly high. In spite of these figures, some improvements in health care have been made, most notable is the significant progress in maternal-child health^. Overall Nepal’s HDI for health was 0.77 in 2011, ranking Nepal 126 out of 194 countries, up from 0.444 in 1980.