2 May 2020, Kathmandu
A Nepali physician has been featured on the UN Women’s list of women in the front lines battling the coronavirus outbreak.
Director of National Public Health Laboratory and Chief Pathologist Dr. Runa Jha has been included in the list of 5 women on COVID-19 response frontline readied by UN Women.
The UN agency recognised the five women, including Jha, for their continuing contribution in the battle against the noble coronavirus. “Staying late at the lab has become the norm. In addition to the technical work, I also have to manage logistics, such as arranging transportation and food for my team,” she told UN Women.
Taking care of her team is a high priority for Jha; it all begun in mid-February when her group was the first to enter a quarantine plant housing 175 Nepali students brought home from Wuhan, China.
“My team did not hesitate to volunteer to take samples… all of them were ready. We worked the whole night and produced 175 reports the following day,” she shares.
She further says, “It is a very difficult time for us, and I have to keep them motivated. I talk to them whenever I sense they are feeling down. I tell them their safety is our priority… I want to hug my daughter and take care of my parents, but this sacrifice needs to be made to keep them and others safe.”
Jha was one of the doctors to reach the Kharipati quarantine facility where the 175 Nepalis were kept after they were brought back home from Wuhan China.
