DOHA: The number of cardiac ailment related deaths is on the rise among Nepalese workers in Qatar. The Nepalese Embassy’s yearly progress report recorded a total of 115 cardiac deaths in 2009. This is against the 107 cardiac death cases reported in the previous year.
Talking to The Peninsula here yesterday, Dr Surayanath Mishra, the Nepal’s ambassador to Qatar, said the mortality rate of Nepalese in Qatar during 2009 was 217. Of this, 53 percent of the people died of acute cardiac arrest. While 40 Nepalese died of traffic accidents, 23 died at the work site. Fourteen Nepalese residents died of drowning, including 12 in the July boat tragedy. Nine people committed suicide, the ambassador said.
Myocardial infraction has been claiming a large number of lives of Nepalese residents for the last few years. In 2008, a total of 175 Nepalese died in Qatar. Of them, 107 were victims of cardiac arrest and 89 deaths occurred during the first six months of the year. The previous two years also witnessed myocardial infraction claiming the lives of a large number of Nepalese workers.
Of the total 162 residents died in 2007, 103 cases were reported due to cardiac arrest. Of the 143 workers died in 2006, myocardial infraction claimed the lives of 72 persons.
A significant factor is that most of the cardiac deaths that was reported over the last few years had occurred during the initial days of the visit of the victims. The workers’ inability to adapt to the changing weather conditions is being attributed to the main reason for the deaths.
“The Northern and Middle regions of Nepal are mountainous with cool weather. The sudden relocation of workers to the harsh weather is being pointed out by health experts as the reason for sudden deaths. The food habits of the workers is another contributing factor,” Dr Mishra said.
It is also suspected that some of the workers are regularly consuming high quantity of spurious liquor or some specific brands of toiletries that contain certain percentage of alcohol.
The embassy, with the support of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), had plans to set up an “overseas workers orientation centre” in Kathmandu. The proposal is still at discussion level, the ambassador said.
However, the mission, with the support of various Nepalese community organisations is set to launch an intensive ‘health awareness campaign’ among the workers. The Mission is working on to set up a panel of experts, including social scientists and medical experts, who would spearhead the campaign in the labour camps.