Deuba calls for joint efforts in TB control
Thimi (Bhaktapur), Feb 24 (RSS):
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the eighth national workshop on
the tuberculosis control programme at the National Tuberculosis Centre today.
Some 600 people including district health officers, public health officers,
tuberculosis and leprosy workers and representatives of national and international
NGOs are participating in the three day seminar jointly organised by the Health
Ministry and the JICA National Tuberculosis Control Project.
Tuberculosis experts from SAARC member countries, Japan, Norway, Germany,
France and the United Kingdom are also participating in the workshop.
In his inaugural address, Prime Minister Deuba underlined the need to attain
success in TB control through joint effort as in the case of national immunization
day.
Our services should reach all remote rural areas, he said stressing the need to
make the flow of information in TB control more affective.
He appreciated the cooperation the Japanese government has been extending to
Nepal in TB control work for the past 10 years.
From the chair, Assistant Health Minister Suresh Chandra Das emphasized the
need to identify TB patients in rural areas as many such patients remain
unidentified.
Japanese ambassador Tomohiko Yanase said Tuberculosis has after many years
emerged as a serious problem in the developing countries. The directly observed
treatment (DOTS) short course has been quite effective in TB control in Nepal, he
observed.
Director of the National Tuberculosis Centre and the SAARC tuberculosis centre
Dr Dirgha Singh Bom disclosed that three million additional TB cases are recorded
every year in the SAARC region and the World Health Organization has agreed to
support TB control programmes in South East Asia.
Acting health secretary Dr Durga Prasad Manandhar, director
general of the department of health services Dr Kalyan Raj Pandey,
JICA resident representative Masao Watanabe, team leader of the
Tuberculosis Control Project Dr Katsunori Osuga, scientific
director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung
Diseases Prof Donald Enarson, WHO representative Dr Bill Piggot
and Dr DB Pradhan of Nepal anti tuberculosis association spoke
about the effectiveness of DOTS.
Tussle between UML factions continues
BY A STAFF REPORTER
Kathmandu, Feb. 24:
Tug of war between the two factions of CPN-UML continues in its
central committee meeting that began Sunday. As a counter move
against Bamdev Gautam faction, which is seeking ouster of
incumbent general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal, the
pro-Madhav Nepal group today registered a set of written charges
against Bam Dev Gautam. Mr. Gautam had registered a charge
sheet against general secretary Nepal Sunday and sought his
resignation.
Ishwar Pokhrel today registered the counter charge sheet against
Gautam. The charge sheet accuses Gautam of creating division in
the party, deviating from party principles, tarnishing the party
image among the supporters and the people, instigating workers
and supporters against the central leadership and party decision.
"These irresponsible activities promoted by some elements within
the party leadership have polluted and weakened the organization,"
says the written charge put forward by Mr. Pokhrel, warning that
the self centered attitude would push the party backward and
ultimately lead to collapse.
Pokhrel also accused Gautam of being involved in corruption and
financial irregularities during the nine month period of CPN-UML
government. "If we can not maintain strict financial discipline, how
can the party boost morale of the workers and supporters," he
said.
Pokhrel charged that former deputy general secretary and the
current standing committee member for working at his petty
interest instead of larger interest of the party and the nation.
Another central leader who spoke at today's meeting was Mod
Nath Prashrit. Prashrit defended general secretary Nepal and
accused Mr. Gautam of hatching conspiracy against the party
organization. "There is no justification behind the demand of
general secretary's ouster at a time when the sixth national
convention is coming very soon', Mr. Prashrit said.
Today's move came as the counter move against the Gautam's
group which registered a written charge sheet Sunday demanding
the resignation of general secretary Nepal. In his charge sheet, Mr.
Gautam accused Mr. Nepal of creating groups within the party and
being unable to lead the party properly.
Mr. Gautam's camp that has been seeking general secretary's
ouster includes C.P. Mainali, Radha Krishna Mainali, Sahana
Pradhan, Jhala Nath Khanal, among others. Gautam camp wants
Mr. Jhala Nath Khanal to be the next general secretary of the party.
Gautam camp also wants to remove Mr. Ishwar Pokhrel and
Pradip Nepal, both central committee members, from the party's
central secretariat. Those who want Mr. Nepal's continuation as
general secretary are Bharat Mohan Adhikari, Amrit Bohora, K.P.
Sharma Oli, Ishwar Pokhrel, Mod Nath Prashrit among some
others.
Both camps claim their majority in the central committee. The final
decision is expected Wednesday. Chairman Man Mohan Adhikari
is against any move that creates split in the party and has been
calling upon all to discourage any attempt against party unity.
However, both Nepal and Gautam camps have ruled out the
possibility of division in the party, irrespective of the outcome of
the central committee meeting.
Nepal supports extension of NPT: Lohani
BY A STAFF REPORTER
Kathmandu, Feb 24:
Diplomats, policy-makers and experts from more than 25 countries
gathered in Kathmandu to discuss nuclear disarmament for
creating peace in Asia and the Pacific region. Participants in the
three day meeting on ëNuclear Disarmament in the Post-CTBT Era
emphasized the need for forging regional consensus on topical and
important issues like peace and disarmament.
Participants also exchanged views concerning the entry into force
the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) prohibition
in production of nuclear weapons and other materials like
explosive devices. The meeting also aimed to discuss the
preparatory process of the Nuclear non-proliferation treaty review
conference scheduled to be held in 2000.
The Ninth Regional Disarmament Meeting started today in
Kathmandu under the aegis of United Nations Regional Centre for
Peace and Disarmament Affairs in Asia and the Pacific.
The meeting will explore priorities in the field of nuclear
disarmament after the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear
Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the 50th General Assembly session
held last September.
Addressing the opening session of the programme, Minister for
Foreign Affairs Dr. Lohani reiterated the commitment of Nepal for
peace and disarmament.
ìNepal is making efforts for disarmament. We are in the process of
ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention and have supported
indefinite extension of NPT.
Nepal has already signed CTBT which will come for ratification in
time. We are also strong supporter of micro-disarmament,î Dr.
Lohani said. A durable peace can reliably be founded on the pillars
of international understanding, equality, justice and development.
It must be consistently nurtured and reinforced with cooperation,
transparency and mutual confidence among actors at national,
regional, and global levels, he said and added it demands a new
culture of security built on lower reliance on arms and higher
element of mutual cooperation and confidence.
He said unprecedented progress in transport and communication
has what was once a large world reduced to a global village in our
time. So have the deadly weapons and their delivery systems that
can precisely hit the targets and kill and injure millions of people
half a world away. It is ironic that human beings have spent so
much of scarce resources to destroy this one world many times
over, but so little to fight its poverty and underdevelopment,
Minister Dr. Lohani viewed.
ìNepal believes, nuclear weapons due to their devastating potential,
are practically unusable. But that does not preclude the possibility
of accidents or of their desperate use as weapons of last resort.î
Dr. Lohani further said that exorbitant cost and complexity
involved in producing, storing,maintaining and destroying, them
raise serious doubts about nuclear safety even in peace times.
These weapons should, therefore, receive priority in disarmament
agenda.
An uneasy peace at the global level, interspersed with regional
hostilities, has become the hallmark of the post war era.
The Asian- Pacific region like some others has its share of
discords and security problems. And Ethnic diversity, territorial
disputes, developmental inequities and social injustice, further
aggravated by colonial legacies and cold war cracks have sown the
seeds of mutual distrust.
The deep distrust renders the region susceptible to conflicts.
Dialogues are a fundamental necessity to reverse the situation and
create a climate of trust in the region. Disarmament is a key
ingredient of regional dialogues, he said, however it can hardy be
addressed in isolation of global disarmament.
Mr. Prvoslav Davinic, Director of Centre for Disarmament
appreciated Nepalís efforts towards establishing peace in the
region. Mr. Davinic said the meeting would help strengthen the
move for regional understanding towards maintaining peace in the
region.
He said that the experts from different nations would exchange
their views about openness and transparency in military matters,
regional security and the illegal flow of small weapons. He
expressed belief that the regional meeting would gather diverse
views about maintaining peace in the region.
Regarding the objective of the regional meeting held here, Mr.
Davinic said a wide participation from various countries has given
a fillip to the disarmament campaign. However, the meeting will be
very informal which would help built better understanding and
develop a common consensus. Approximately 35 participants
from government, academic and research institutes and
non-governmental organisations mainly from Asia and the Pacific
region participated in the three day meeting.
The Centre for Disarmament Affairs in New York had decided to
convene this meeting here on February 11.
The New York based office of Centre for Disarmament Affairs has
three regional offices in Latin America (Lima of Peru), South
Africa and Asia- Pacific. Its regional office established in
Kathmandu in 1989 has already held such regional programmes in
the past.
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