The health examination of Nepali workers going for foreign employment has been tightened. In order to make the health examination process more organized and transparent, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has issued a new procedure related to the health examination of workers.

The procedure includes a detailed list of mandatory health tests and laboratory tests for every worker going to foreign employment. Complaints are coming that many Nepalese workers are in trouble due to wrong reports, fake medical examinations and opaque procedures. To control this, the health check-up has been tightened," Danduraj Ghimire, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Labor told Ikantipur, "This step of the government ensures quality health check-up of Nepali workers going for foreign employment. The Ministry has made a strong mechanism to implement it effectively.

According to the decision of the meeting of the expert committee formed in accordance with the foreign employment regulations on May 23, according to the decision of the ministerial level, the procedures related to the organization, listing, renewal and monitoring of the health examination of workers going to foreign employment have been amended. According to this procedure, the ministry said that new licenses will be issued only after laboratory tests of 250 listed health institutions have been completed. The ministry had already set a deadline for listed health institutions to build new standard health laboratories. 

According to the Ministry of Labor, it has been reported that the health check-up has been increased according to the standards set by the major destination countries, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and European countries. Major tests include blood tests (CBC, ESR, platelets), tuberculosis tests (chest x-ray, Mantoux test, sputum AFB), kidney function tests (serum urea, creatinine), hepatitis B and C, malaria, diabetes, typhoid, etc.

Especially for the laborers who went to Malaysia, drug testing like marijuana, opium, methamphetamine, cocaine is mandatory. For other countries, it has been mentioned that additional tests can be done according to the doctor's recommendation. The Ministry has arranged for occupational diseases (respiratory problems, skin diseases, muscle and bone problems, cancer, diabetes, heart disease etc.) to be tested by separating risk groups according to the age and profession of workers.

For these health tests, it is arranged that the health test fee can be charged only according to the fee determined by the government. According to the ministry, the necessary equipment, qualified manpower, information management system, quality control system, and necessary document management are mandatory in every medical center that conducts tests.

Labour, Employment and Social Security Minister Sharatsingh Bhandari said that the health sector has been reformed to protect workers who have gone to foreign employment from the 'death tab'. Workers should be protected from death tab. Workers have gone to work. They did not go to any battle. The death rate is alarming," he said. "After continuous study and research for the last one year, we have come to a position where we can implement the new standards." According to the records of the Foreign Employment Board, 14,666 workers died in the last 14 years. Most of them died from heart attack 19, 19.5 from natural causes, 7 from workplace accidents, 12.7 from road accidents, 11 from suicide and the remaining 30.8 percent from other causes. Most of the certificates contain words like 'Natural, Sudden Death, Heart Attack, Unnatural'. The destination country has been taking responsibility only for workplace and vehicle accidents.

A 30-member expert high-level task force under the leadership of the then Additional Secretary of the Health Ministry, Dipendra Raman Singh, has proposed a solution to the workers' health problems by classifying them into 8 groups. These include physical problems (musculoskeletal disorders, injuries, heat-related illnesses), chemical exposure and respiratory problems (harmful chemical exposure, blood cancer, respiratory diseases), mental health (work stress, anxiety, depression, social isolation), gynecological, reproductive and sexual health problems (sexual abuse, lack of prenatal care, menstrual problems), infectious diseases (TB, COVID-19, gastrointestinal, sexually transmitted diseases), non-communicable diseases (heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity), neurological (Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, migraine, muscle wasting disease) and cardio related diseases, high blood pressure and diabetes related diseases. According to