Staff Shortage Leaves Siraha Birthing Center in Critical Condition

Siraha. The birthing center located in Barchhawa, Naraha Rural Municipality-4, is operating under risky conditions due to a severe shortage of staff. Currently, only one Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) is managing the facility, which is tasked with providing sensitive health services.

Typically, a well-managed birthing center requires at least two staff nurses, one Health Assistant (HA), and one office assistant. However, sixth-level ANM Tikadevi Dhungel is forced to provide 24-hour service alone.

Despite adequate physical infrastructure, the lack of skilled manpower has resulted in a very low number of service seekers. In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, only 19 women have received maternity services here. Among them, 11 were underprivileged women from the local 'Saday' community who were unable to travel elsewhere due to financial or geographical constraints.

Mahesh Kumar Rajak, head of the Barchhawa Health Post, states that the lack of health workers poses significant challenges at night. He said, "During office hours, other staff are present, which makes things easier. However, women usually arrive for delivery at night, when it is impossible for one person to manage. Sometimes, when the ANM is on leave, the facility remains completely unattended."

ANM Tikadevi Dhungel, who has been serving for years, shared the difficulties of working alone, saying, "It is not much of a problem during the day, but delivering babies alone at night is both scary and risky. With no one else around, I am doing whatever I can to serve the patients."

While citing a staff shortage at the birthing center, the Naraha Rural Municipality has assigned technical health staff to administrative roles. Senior AHW Arun Kumar Singh has been given the responsibility of the inventory branch head, while another employee, Baijnath Sah, has been made the secretary of Ward No. 5.

Furthermore, three other health workers have been kept on 'deputation' in the health branch without any concrete responsibilities. Regarding this, Chief Administrative Officer Aditya Kumar Karna cited a lack of manpower as the main reason. He said, "We have not been able to send additional manpower there because we have fewer health staff. We are making arrangements and will try to send more staff soon."

Locals complain that due to administrative influence and political infighting, skilled health workers are being kept outside their designated areas, depriving women in remote areas of their right to safe motherhood. Local resident Sakaldev Yadav said, "The municipality has kept influential health workers in comfortable positions in wards and the inventory branch, while the daughters and daughters-in-law of poor people like us have to rely on a single ANM during labor. This is a direct gamble with our health."

Locals warn that such services, relying on a single ANM, could lead to accidents at any time. They have demanded the immediate management of health workers to ensure the birthing center operates at full capacity.