After more than a year of chronic drug shortages, the prime minister has asked the health minister for a report on the problem. I’m surprised. Hospitals throughout the country have been facing a serious shortage of drugs for more than a year. The problem has been widely reported and analyzed by the media. The opposition [...]
Being too cautious with small amounts of money now, could cost you a lot of money later. All of us are familiar with this universal truth. In fact, there’s a well known idiom for it: penny wise, pound foolish. But what about the opposite? What if you spend a lot of money now, and end [...]
The Health Ministry has admitted that they have a problem: they have not been able to maintain an adequate supply of drugs to our hospitals. As a result, patients have had to postpone or even forgo medication. And doctors have been forced to direct their patients to private pharmacies, which, many times, have also been [...]
Wangda Dorji made history yesterday morning. He revealed that he is HIV positive. And by doing so, he became the first Bhutanese person to publically disclose that he is inflicted with HIV. He made his announcement and shared his painful story with the guests who had gathered to commemorate World AIDS Day. Later, in the [...]
Last month I posted a poll asking if abortion should be legalized in our country. Thank you for participating in the poll. And thank you for your views, both for and against legalizing abortion. 55% of you said yes, abortion should be legalized. 38% of you said no, abortion should not be legalized. And 7% [...]
We have a drinking problem. We reportedly consume 7.5 liters of alcohol per person per year. Much of that is served in the more than 3,000 licensed bars that we have. That works out to one bar for every 250 people. And that does not take into consideration the large-scale production, sale and consumption of [...]
In 2007 the Ministry of Health conducted a survey in Thimphu to assess the state of non-communicable diseases in the capital. The results showed that we live dangerously. For example: One out of every five adults consumed tobacco – they either smoked or used smokeless tobacco. One third of the adult population consumed alcohol regularly. [...]
Last week, on the 8th of July, Bhutan Today reported that the Phuentsholing hospital received four post abortion complication cases in just one month. All the abortions had been performed across the border, in Jaigon. All four cases were life-threatening. This week, on the 14th of July, Kuensel reported that a young woman died in [...]
It’s the tourist season. And at mealtimes, tourists across our country – in restaurants and in dining tents – will regard, with some amusement, their guides roll and set aside small balls of rice. “Bhutanese way of washing hand!” our guides will declare referring to their pre-meal rituals. Some of the tourists will, as always, [...]
During question hour today, I asked the minister for works and human settlement if and when wages for the National Workforce would be increased. This issue has already received considerable attention in the National Assembly. Still, I went ahead, hoping to push the government to raise the wages of our workers. It didn’t work. And [...]
Tshering Tobgay is a Member of Parliament representing Sombaykha Constitutency in Haa. He is the Leader of the Opposition Party in the National Assembly of Bhutan.
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