A middle-aged man of Nepali origin died unexpectedly last October in Yuen Long, Hong Kong. He used to work at a construction site and was working till the day before. On that fateful night, he was alone in the room. Some of his workmates thought that he had gone to Nepal, as he was absent for many days. One of his neighbors smelled foul and informed the police, who later found his decomposed body.

 

According to his wife, the man had no history of any chronic diseases. He was never admitted to hospital before his death. This is only a representative case of Nepalis who die from such sudden death complexities in Hong Kong. Almost every month we get across these types of sad news in Nepali newspapers and news portals. Mostly adult males are victims of sudden death which is becoming a serious concern among Nepalis.

 

The cases of sudden deaths are also reported in other countries. For example, about 400,000 to 460,000 people die of sudden death in the United States each year. A survey conducted in the emergency wards of hospitals in the Philippines found that every 43 among 100,000 young and adult succumb to sudden death. The problem is widespread in Nepal as well though there is no recorded data. The rate of sudden death among migrant Nepali workers seems to be higher compared to people from other countries.

 

There are many reasons why people meet such tragic fate. Nepalis working in the Gulf countries like Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain or Saudi Arabia are more likely to suffer from such problems because most of them are employed as manual laborers and their living conditions are reportedly miserable. They are paid less than others and small and congested rooms have to be shared by many people in order to save a little amount of their earning. Since many of them happen to go to these countries from Nepal’s countryside, they are considered to be less aware of their health conditions. Due to their low wages, they cannot afford health check-up and dietary maintenance.

 

In addition, Nepali migrants are exposed to adverse weather conditions, totally different from their home country. As they have to work under sweltering sun and suddenly get exposed to air-conditioning at night, their body temperature might fail to adjust and stop working. These factors precipitate risk of sudden deaths among young and adult Nepalis.

 

In my observation as a healthcare worker in Hong Kong and Nepal, I found that most Nepalis are unaware of healthy lifestyles such as dietary patterns, regular exercises, and regular screening of the body. This lack of awareness renders them vulnerable to unexpected health complexities.

 

Besides, heart problems like high blood pressure, heart attack, atherosclerosis, and congestive cardiac failure are common among Nepalis in Hong Kong and systemic diseases can be the cause of sudden deaths. These problems can cause the lack of oxygen and nutrition in the body resulting in the dysfunction of body organs.

 

Developing health awareness among Nepalis in Hong Kong can be one of the strategies to prevent sudden deaths. Health awareness and education can help them maintain dietary patterns such as avoiding fatty and fried foods and live a healthy life. Making people aware about the importance of regular health screening and adopting a comfortable position during sleep could also be helpful in preventing sudden deaths. In addition, simple awareness can alert partner nearby to support the victims during emergency situations.

 

More than 30,000 Nepalis live in Hong Kong. They are not able to access all the health service facilities provided by the government due to language barriers as most of the information is provided either in English or Chinese. Having health personnel from the ethnic minority backgrounds in Hong Kong’s health sectors could be beneficial in preventing sudden deaths of Nepalis there.