Doti. Only 11.68 per cent of the population in Doti district has easy access to health insurance.

According to the National Census 2078, the district has a population of 204,831, out of which only 23,915 have health insurance. The Health Office Doti made the data public in an interaction with journalists today.

The population of health insurance in the far-western state is 22 percent. According to Ramesh Malasi, chief of the Health Office Doti, there are 9,255 households in the district.

According to him, only 1,503 people participated in the health insurance in the fiscal year 2081/82 as compared to 2,381 in the fiscal year 2080/81 in the district.

Dipayal Silgadhi Municipality has the highest number of health insurance patients in the district and Bogatan Fudsil Rural Municipality has the lowest number. As many as 8,701 households of 2,781 households of Dipayal Silgadhi municipality have access to health insurance while only 238 people from 59 households of Bogatan Fudsil rural municipality have access to health insurance.

Similarly, 3,825 people from 1,733 households of Shikhar Municipality, 2,238 people from 663 households of Badikedar Rural Municipality, 2,039 people from 903 households of KI Singh Rural Municipality and 1,808 people from 987 households of Purbi Chowki Rural Municipality have been insured.

A total of 1,794 people from 648 households of Sayal rural municipality, 1,698 from 659 households of Jorayal rural municipality and 1,574 from 822 households of Adarsha rural municipality have taken health insurance cover.

The Government of Nepal has been running the health insurance program since 2072 BS under social security with the aim of providing easy access to the health of all citizens.

The government has implemented a health insurance programme across the country to reduce the cost of health treatment of citizens. Health insurance was implemented in doti, a hilly district of sudurpaschim state, from 2076 BS to 2077 BS.