Makawanpur, April 7 -- An acute shortage of anti-rabies vaccines has gripped provincial hospitals across the Bagmati province, leaving patients vulnerable and forcing many to seek expensive treatment at private health facilities. The crisis stems from a total depletion of stocks at the Provincial Health Logistics Management Centre in Hetauda.

The shortage has crippled services at the Hetauda Hospital, provincial hospitals and health centres across all 13 districts in Bagmati province. Ishwar Mahara, an official at the Provincial Health Logistics Management Centre's vaccination branch, confirmed that supplies have been precarious for months. "We are receiving urgent requests from every district, but we simply have no stock left to distrib...