Nepal doctors back hunger-striking colleague

Thousands of doctors in Nepal stayed away from work at clinics and hospitals Wednesday in support of a colleague who has been on a hunger strike for 10 days to demand reforms in medical education and services.

More than 5,000 doctors took part in the action, and only emergency services were open in hospitals across the Himalayan nation, said Dr. Nirmal Rimal of the Nepal Medical Association.

The strike left most people in Nepal without access to doctors.

The Kathmandu Post reported that Tuesday’s actions were "likely to affect around 150,000 patients who visit the [outpatient departments] of over 400 hospitals across the country daily."

The physicians are supporting Dr. Govinda K.C., who is demanding that the government make medical education affordable to more students and medical services available to all citizens.

"At this moment, all we want is to save Dr K.C.’s life, and that happens through the fulfillment of his demands," Dr. Anjani Kumar Jha, the president of the Nepal Medical Association, told the Kathmandu Post. "We have often resorted to strikes demanding reforms in medical sector. The government has let us down but we will fight back."

Only three of Nepal's 20 medical colleges are run by the government. Private colleges charge huge fees that are unaffordable for the majority of the population.

K.C. is also alleging widespread corruption among officials in granting permits to private medical colleges. He is demanding that the officials be dismissed and punished.

The government formed a committee to negotiate with the doctors, but there was no agreement reached to end the strike.

K.C. went on a 15-day hunger strike last year with similar demands. He resumed eating and doctors withdrew their protests after the government assured them of changes in the medical education system. K.C. now says the government has not done enough.

Hundreds of supporters lined up Wednesday to visit K.C. at Kathmandu's Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital, where he lies in a hospital bed weak from hunger.

A group of doctors briefly scuffled with police officers while protesting outside the Nepal Medical Council office in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital. 

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press