Over the last few
years, Nepali and international colleagues have been collaborating
in the development of palliative care services in Nepal. The program
continues to move forward amid the considerable social and political
difficulties facing Nepal. Although a number of individuals and
organizations have been involved, the partnership between the
International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research and the
Nepal Palliative Care Group is described in this paper. This joint
effort has been broadly based on the World Health Organization
foundation measures for palliative care: governmental policy, upload
availability, and education.
Ita Maharjan
Poozana Pradhan
Priyanka Karki
Mamata
Pradhan
Given the sexually
conservative nature of Nepalese public life, I have been very
surprised at the small amount of controversy that the emphasis on
condoms in the pubic sphere has created. Although I have heard some
criticism, there has generally been a wide acceptance of the
saturation of the country with condom billboards. Again, this would
seem to suggest that AIDS is understood as a Western disease, and
the approaches to combat it (e.g. the media condom campaign) have
been suggested by the West, therefore deference is displayed toward
the public display of sexuality, even when it violates cultural
norms. Given the history of development in Nepal it is not a
surprise that the evolving AIDS prevention campaign would be a
product of Western development paradigms.
