Indian Embassy hands over sickle cell, thalassemia vaccines to Nepal

Kathmandu / April 25: The government of India has provided Nepal with vaccines to be used in the treatment of sickle cell anaemia and thalassemia.

The first batch of vaccines was delivered to the Minister for Health and Population, Pradip Paudel, by India’s ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, amidst a programme here on Friday.

The first shipment of vaccines includes 17,030 vial vaccines of five different types.

These vaccines are expected to control the infections of Sickle cell anaemia and thalassemia.

On the occasion, the Minister said around 12 per cent of the country is affected by these worrying health conditions, and the Tharu community has been affected the most.

“We are prepared to launch the sickle cell treatment facilities in Tikapur and Geta Hospital. We continue to get support from India in various sectors, and we expect such cooperation in the future, too,” he said, hoping the support in vaccination will benefit the target groups.

According to the Ambassador, the next consignment of the vaccines will arrive in four weeks.

As he said, India has always stood with Nepal during each difficulty, and the support was provided at the call of the Minister. We have planned to support the cancer treatment as well, he added. RSS