Background The COVID-19 pandemic response is affecting maternal and neonatal health services all over the world. We aimed to assess the number of institutional births, their outcomes (institutional stillbirth and neonatal mortality rate), and quality of intrapartum care before and during the national COVID-19 lockdown in Nepal. Methods In this prospective observational study, we collected participant-level data for pregnant women enrolled in the SUSTAIN and REFINE studies between Jan 1 and May 30, 2020, from nine hospitals in Nepal. This period included 12·5 weeks before the national lockdown and 9·5 weeks during the lockdown. Women were eligible for inclusion if they had a gestational age of 22 weeks or more, a fetal heart sound at time of admission, and consented to inclusion. Women who had multiple births and their babies were excluded. We collected information on demographic and obstetric characteristics via extraction from case notes and health worker performance via direct observation by independent clinical researchers. We used regression analyses to assess changes in the number of institutional births, quality of care, and mortality before lockdown versus during lockdown. Findings Of 22 907 eligible women, 21 763 women were enrolled and 20 354 gave birth, and health worker performance was recorded for 10 543 births. From the beginning to the end of the study period, the mean weekly number of births decreased from 1261·1 births (SE 66·1) before lockdown to 651·4 births (49·9) during lockdown—a reduction of 52·4%. The institutional stillbirth rate increased from 14 per 1000 total births before lockdown to 21 per 1000 total births during lockdown (p=0·0002), and institutional neonatal mortality increased from 13 per 1000 livebirths to 40 per 1000 livebirths (p=0·0022). In terms of quality of care, intrapartum fetal heart rate monitoring decreased by 13·4% (−15·4 to −11·3; p<0·0001), and breastfeeding within 1 h of birth decreased by 3·5% (−4·6 to −2·6; p=0·0032). The immediate newborn care practice of placing the baby skin-to-skin with their mother increased by 13·2% (12·1 to 14·5; p<0·0001), and health workers' hand hygiene practices during childbirth increased by 12·9% (11·8 to 13·9) during lockdown (p<0·0001). Interpretation Institutional childbirth reduced by more than half during lockdown, with increases in institutional stillbirth rate and neonatal mortality, and decreases in quality of care. Some behaviours improved, notably hand hygiene and keeping the baby skin-to-skin with their mother. An urgent need exists to protect access to high quality intrapartum care and prevent excess deaths for the most vulnerable health system users during this pandemic period. Funding Grand Challenges Canada.

Dengue is an emerging disease in Nepal and was first observed as an outbreak in nine lowland districts in 2006. In 2010, however, a large epidemic of dengue occurred with 4,529 suspected and 917 serologically-confirmed cases and five deaths reported in government hospitals in Nepal. The collection of demographic information was performed along with an entomological survey and clinical evaluation of the patients. A total of 280 serum samples were collected from suspected dengue patients. These samples were subjected to routine laboratory investigations and IgM-capture ELISA for dengue serological identification, and 160 acute serum samples were used for virus isolation, RT-PCR, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The results showed that affected patients were predominately adults, and that 10% of the cases were classified as dengue haemorrhagic fever/ dengue shock syndrome. The genetic characterization of dengue viruses isolated from patients in four major outbreak areas of Nepal suggests that the DENV-1 strain was responsible for the 2010 epidemic. Entomological studies identified Aedes aegypti in all epidemic areas. All viruses belonged to a monophyletic single clade which is phylogenetically close to Indian viruses. The dengue epidemic started in the lowlands and expanded to the highland areas. To our knowledge, this is the first dengue isolation and genetic characterization reported from Nepal.

Introduction Nepal has made considerable progress on improving child survival during the Millennium Development Goal period, however, further progress will require accelerated reduction in neonatal mortality. Neonatal survival is one of the priorities for Sustainable Development Goals 2030. This paper examines the trends, equity gaps and factors associated with neonatal mortality between 2001 and 2016 to assess the likelihood of Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) target being reached in Nepal by 2030. Methods This study used data from the 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016 Nepal Demographic and Health Surveys. We examined neonatal mortality rate (NMR) across the socioeconomic strata and the annual rate of reduction (ARR) between 2001 and 2016. We assessed association of socio-demographic, maternal, obstetric and neonatal factors associated with neonatal mortality. Based on the ARR among the wealth quintile between 2001 and 2016, we made projection of NMR to achieve the ENAP target. Using the Lorenz curve, we calculated the inequity distribution among the wealth quintiles between 2001 and 2016.

Background Nepal adopted the Multisectoral Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (MSAP) in 2014. Implementation of the plan has been challenging, with limited participation from non-health sectors. Objectives The overall aim of the study was to gain the perspectives of key stakeholders involved in the Nepal MSAP on the barriers and facilitators to its implementation, through the participation of relevant sectors in the plan. Methods We held face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 12 stakeholders working in sectors involved in the MSAP. These sectors included the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministries; Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP); Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; Ministry of Forest and Environment; academia; and professional organizations. Thematic analysis of transcripts was used to identify themes on awareness of NCDs, awareness of the MSAP, and barriers and facilitators to participation in the MSAP. Results Participants recognised NCDs as a growing and major burden in Nepal. However, a number of participants were not familiar with the MSAP, identifying a lack of leadership and poor dissemination. Political and systemic transformation, since the adoption of the MSAP, was seen as a key barrier to implementation. International commitments to develop multisectoral action made by the Government of Nepal were identified as drivers. The recent establishment of a separate section for NCDs and Mental Health within the Department of Health Services of MOHP and the promotion of a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach in recent national documents, were both considered to support implementation. Conclusions The establishment of permanent multisectoral or multistakeholder mechanisms has been challenging despite strong political calls for their development. Moving beyond 2020, multisectoral action plans should engage with stakeholders from federal, provincial and local governments in order to develop costed action plans with specific roles and responsibilities for each sector.

Aim: To test and refine a performance-based management system to improve health worker performance in Nepal.Methods: A mixed-methods implementation research in three districts. The study assessed health workers' job satisfaction at the start and end of the study. Qualitative techniques were used to document processes, and routine health service data were analysed to measure outcomes.Results: Job satisfaction significantly increased in six of nine key areas, and the proportion of staff absenteeism significantly declined in the study districts. It demonstrated an increase in immunisation coverage, the proportion of women who had a first antenatal check-up also having a fourth check-up and the proportion of childbirth in a health facility. The greatest perceived strengths of the system were its robust approach to performance planning and evaluation, supportive supervision, outcome-based job descriptions and a transparent reward system. A functional health facility environment, leadership and community engagement support successful implementation. Conclusion:The performance-based management system has the potential to increase health workers' job satisfaction, and it offers a tool to link facility-wide human resource management. A collaborative approach, ownership and commitment of the health system are critical to success. Considering the Nepal context, a management system that demonstrates a positive improvement has potential for improved health care delivery. Abbreviations CI, Confidence interval; CsPRO, Census and survey processing system; HERD, Health Research and Social Development Forum; HFOMC, Health Facility Operations and ManagementWell-designed performance-based management system can improve health worker and service delivery performance. In the light of this, a health worker performance-based management system was assessed in Nepal and the findings indicate a positive improvement in health workers performance with mixed impact in service delivery. Contextually tailored performance-based model integrated in district health management system has potential for improved quality of care. 24

Introduction: Non-fermentative gram-negative bacilli are common causes of human infections especially nosocomial infections. These organisms are usually resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents including carbapenems. The study aimed to find out the prevalence of metallo-β-lactamase producing non-fermentative gram-negative bacilli among the samples which yielded growth of bacteria in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary care hospital from February 2017 to May 2017. Convenience sampling method was used. Bacterial identification, characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were done by following standard microbiological guidelines. Metallo-β-lactamase production was detected by using combined disk diffusion test and double-disc synergy test. Data were analyzed by using Statistical Package of Social Science software version 16. Point estimate at 95% confidence interval was calculated along with frequency and proportion for binary data. Results: Among 628 samples which yielded growth of bacteria, 118 (18.79%) at 95% Confidence Interval (15.74-21.84) were metallo-β-lactamase producing non-fermentative gram-negative bacilli. Among them, 54 (45.76%) were Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 64 (54.24%) were Acinetobacter baumannii. Conclusions: A high prevalence of metallo-β-lactamase production was observed among the nonfermentative gram-negative bacilli than the study done in similar settings. It is mandatory to perform routine monitoring of metallo-β-lactamase producing isolates in clinical laboratories in order to help the clinicians prescribe proper antibiotics.

IntroductIon: Neuro hospital is the only hospital in eastern Nepal that has an Intensive care unit (ICU) dedicated to neurological surgery. This is a 6-bed ICU with four ventilators, Arterial blood gas analyzer, central oxygen and suction supply which caters to neurosurgery along with few medical cases from not only eastern Nepal but also adjoining parts of India. methode: To collect data from the only neurosurgical referral centre in Eastern Nepal and to create a registry with possible use in national trauma registry. Neurosurgery was started in December 2009 in this hospital and the aim of this study is to analyze the data and to look for the possible factors that will help in improving patient management in the future. This is a prospectivedescriptive study including admissions to the ICU from December 2009 and November 2010. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data collected. results: The total numbers of cases admitted were 251 with the majority being males (M:F::170:81). Neurosurgical cases amounted to 207 and medical 44. The most common age group was between 21-40 years (64 cases). Of the neurosurgical cases the majority were traumatic head injury (115 cases) followed by CVA (36), Aneurysm (13) and tumors in 8 cases. Postoperative cases comprised of 112 cases, the majority being intra-cerebral hematomas. The total number of ventilated cases was 73, the number of days of ventilation ranged from 1-18 with the majority weaned off within 1 day (28 cases). The total number of days of admission ranged from 1-28 days with the majority being transferred within 7 days. Of the medical cases the most common indication was for cardiac and respiratory problems (10 each) followed by liver diseases. The overall in ICU mortality was 25%.

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