Page 219 - Health, Population and Environment Education 10

The above table shows that Srilanka and Maldives have low infant mortality rate in
comparison to that of the other countries.

e. Maternal mortality rate

The death of females during pregnancy or within 42 day of termination of pregnancy
is known as maternal death. There is high maternal mortality in Nepal due to early
marriage, early pregnancy, lack of birth spacing, lack of regular health check up, lack of
nutritious diet, lack of prenatal and post natal care, lack of effective delivery from trained
health workers etc. According to the demographic and health survey done between 1996
and 2016 AD, the maternal death rate was found to be reduced from 281/1,00,000 to
170/1,00,000 mothers. The high maternal death rate indicates weak health status of the
people in the country.

f. Poverty

The economic status plays an important role
in determining the community health. Good
economic condition helps to decrease mortality
rate. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the
world. According to the survey done in 2015 AD,
23.8% of population are below the poverty line.
They cannot afford for sufficient food, clothes
and shelter. They lack balanced diet, education,
hygienic diet, health services, etc. As a result,
they become the victim of malnutrition and lead Fig: 20
to different types of diseases. On one hand, they
cannot prevent the diseases and on the other hand, they cannot afford for medical services
when they are sick which results to the death of victims.

g. Population growth

According to the CBS record of 2011 AD, the population growth rate of Nepal is 1.35%.
High population growth rate creates problems of fooding, lodging, drinking water,
employment, etc. It becomes difficult for the government to fulfill the basic needs of the
increasing population. When the basic needs are not fulfilled, it causes the problems of
malnutrition, destruction of the environment, poor health of the people, etc. As a result,
the community health becomes poor.

h. Lack of health services
Due to the poor economic condition, the government has not been able to invest
sufficiently in the health sectors. The health services are very less in comparison to the
total population in the country. At present, only 20% of the population is benefited with
the available health services and the remaining population are deprived of such services.
There is lack of doctors, health workers, hospitals, medicines, etc. for them. The following
table shows the present situation of health services in Nepal.
GREEN Health, Population and Environment Education Book-10 219