Luxury medicine

Nepali leaders flying abroad for treatment shows how little they trust the country’s healthcare system.

e Nepal Medical Council lists almost 28,000 medical doctors in Nepal, but five-time former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba seems to have failed to find a half-decent one for whatever ails him. What else explains his flight to Singapore for what is touted as a follow-up of his previous treatment? In a free society, everyone is entitled to seek the best treatment for their illness, and this does not exclude public personalities. Moreover, an individual’s health is a private matter. In some cases, strategic reasons make it pertinent to keep the medical status of a public figure, not least a top political leader, private. By this token, Deuba should have no qualms about spending his money—considering it is his own—on medical tourism.