Abstract
WHILE WORKING in Kathmandu between November 1994 and January 1995,I visited the Bhutanese refugee camps in the Jhapa and Morang Districts of eastern Nepal (Figure) at the request of the Physicians for Human Rights. I found a situation there that cries out for a constructive solution. Housed in endless rows of split bamboo huts were 88 000 Nepali-speaking former residents of southern Bhutan. As of August 1995, there were 88 624 refugees in the camps.<sup>1</sup>The population increases about 2% to 3% per year as the result of births in the camps and further migration from Bhutan to unify families. An additional 30000 refugees are scattered throughout northern India. The spectrum of medical problems in the camps is fairly typical of refugee populations, according to Martin et al who performed infectious disease surveillance during 1992 and 1993.<sup>2</sup>These investigators recorded crude mortality rates of 1.15 deaths per 10
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.