National Health Policy, 1991

Main deficiencies in previous health services:

• Basic Health requirements of the rural population were not addressed. 
• Weaknesses in the implementation of plans and programmes. 
• Poor supervision, monitoring, and evaluation of the programmes. 
• Centralization of the resources. 
• Posts sanctioned for district level health organizations were not fulfilled 

Regarding health services delivery, there is one hospital for 168 thousand persons and one doctor for 92 thousand persons in the rural areas. Likewise, only one hospital bed is available for nearly 4 thousand persons. There is only one Health post for 24 thousand rural persons, which indicates the inadequacy of PHC services at the rural level.

Thus, the National Health Policy 1991 aims at:

• Extending the primary health care system to the rural population through health infrastructure development, 
• Community participation 
• Multi-sectoral coordination 
• Mobilizing local resources and decentralized planning and management 
• Reducing infant and child mortality has been a priority 

Rationale

• To improve in the present health conditions of the Nepalese people 
• To fulfill the commitment of the elected government in the health sector 
• Necessary to have a new health policy 

Targets of the National Health Policy, 1991

By the year 2000 AD., the following targets are as follows:

1. The infant mortality rate to be reduced to 50 per thousand from the present 107 per thousand. 
2. The mortality rate of children below 5 years to be reduced to 70 per thousand from the present 197 per thousand. 
3. The total fertility rate to be reduced to 4 from the present 5.8. 
4. The maternal mortality rate to be reduced to'4 per thousand from the present 8.5 per thousand. 
5. The average life expectancy to be raised to 65 years from the present 53 years. 

Proposed Programmes:
1. Preventive Health Services
2. Promotive Health Services
3. Curative Health Services
4. Basic Primary Health Services
5. Community Involvement
6. Organizations and Management

• Integration of Hospital and Public Health 
• Technical and administrative supervision 
• Hospitals were classified 
• Health information system developed 
• Logistic improvement 

7. Developments and Management of Health Manpower
8. Private, Non-government and Inter Sectoral Coordination
9. Ayurved and Other Traditional Health Systems.
10. Drug Supply
11. Resource Mobilization in Health Services
12. Health Research
13. Regionalization and Decentralization
14. Blood Transfusion Services
15. Miscellaneous