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The number of birthing centers in Gandaki Province has reached 364. With this, the deliveries at home have gradually declined. 

Chief of the Medical Service Division at the Ministry of Health in the Province, Dr Ramesh Kumar KC, informed that the number of child births at home has reduced to less than 200 in a year in the Province.

He informed there are 18 hospitals providing delivery service with surgery while the health facilities conducting critical delivery stand at 52. 

All districts except Manang in the Province provide the delivery service.

Even a program is run by the Ministry for the capacity building of health workers and availability of medical equipment. 

Annually, the Province records nearly 24,000 births. Out of a total 36,000 pregnancies, nearly 12,000 undergo abortions.

Dr KC further said out of total pregnancies, nearly 4,000 conduct child births in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Palpa. 

The provincial government has aimed at achieving 'complete institutional delivery' by ending delivery at home. 

The recent demographic and health survey has shown that 89 percent child births are managed at health institutions. 

It is realized due to strengthening of birthing centers, rising public awareness, training to health and medical workers and availability of medical equipment.

Tribhuvan University, the oldest university in Nepal, is holding its 51st Convocation Day today.

For the first time in its history, TU has been able to secure the presence of Nobel laureate Prof Kajita Takaaki as the Chief Guest, according to TU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Deepak Aryal. 

Kajita is a distinguished university professor from Japan. He received the Nobel Prize in 2015 in physics.

Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Aryal informed that all preparations were complete for the ceremony today. 

As many as 16,380 university graduates are being ordained in the convocation. 

The event is being attended by 41,000 people, including the students and their parents. 

However, as many as 89,191 students have graduated- bachelor, master and PhD levels of education- from TU this year, according to the Vice Chancellor.

The students scoring top in respective faculties are being conferred the medals on the occasion.  

The Christian community is celebrating Christmas Day to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity.

Jesus Christ is believed to have been born in Bethlehem, Israel some 2022 years ago today, on December 25.

Today is celebrated as Love Day for those who came to love people, Peace Day for those who came to establish peace, and Liberation Day for those who came for liberation.

On the occasion, the government also announced a public holiday today.

Working Women Journalists (WWJ) has successfully concluded a three-day training program with the objective of enhancing the capacity of women journalists.

The training, titled "Investigative Reporting on Parliamentary Affairs for Women Journalists" was organized with the support of the UNDP’s PSP Project and was attended by 25 women journalists from various media outlets.

On the first day, Dr. Jagat Nepal, a lecturer at Tribhuvan University, provided training on the structure, functions, and procedures of Parliament. Likewise, Narendra Saud, News Editor of Annapurna Post, delivered a presentation on parliamentary reporting and its practical aspects.

On the second day, former Minister for Communication and Information Technology Rekha Sharma shared her experiences related to gender issues in Parliament and the media. In the second session, Rajendra Fuyal, former Secretary of the National Assembly under the Federal Parliament, briefed participants on the Parliament Secretariat and its key responsibilities.

On the third day, senior journalist and former President of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, Shiva Gaunle, conducted a session on ethical standards in investigative journalism. Similarly in the second session, Namrata Sharma, former Chairperson of the Center for Investigative Journalism, presented on investigative journalism in parliamentary reporting.

Certificates were distributed to the participants by UNDP / PSP Project National Project Manager Dila Dutta Pant, senior journalist Namrata Sharma, and former President and Advisor of WWJ, Shubheksha Bindu.

Addressing the program, National Project Manager Pant emphasized that women journalists should aspire to become experts rather than remain only reporters in the field of parliamentary reporting.

He stated that Parliament is a vast source of stories with many unexplored issues and stressed that those who take leadership in this area will succeed. "If you step forward and take leadership, you can do very well in this field", Pant said.

WWJ President Ramkala Khadka said the training was organized to strengthen democracy by promoting investigative journalism in parliamentary affairs, ensuring accountability of power, and providing accurate information to the public.

She noted that women journalists can undertake investigative reporting on issues such as corruption and financial irregularities, conflicts of interest in law-making, parliamentary committee proceedings, and the impact of policy decisions.

Earlier, with UNDP’s support, WWJ had also completed a study on the role of women parliamentarians in representation within Nepal’s Parliament.

Participants shared that the training was highly beneficial. One of the participants, Mamta Thapa, said she had identified several investigative story ideas related to parliamentary accounting issues after the training and suggested that WWJ should introduce fellowship programs to encourage women journalists to produce investigative stories.

Another participant, Arati Poudel, also stated that the training helped her gain extensive knowledge about Parliament and the potential areas for investigative reporting within it.