PRESIDENT OBAMA BELIEVES AMERICA must build “21st century infrastructure—modern ports, stronger bridges, faster trains and the fastest Internet,” and in his State of the Union this week he asked the Republican-controlled Congress to pass a bipartisan infrastructure plan, likely the trillion-dollar legislation Senator Bernie Sanders proposed earlier this month.

It’s an ambitious plan that many agree is desperately needed.

Nearly two months after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shattered Nepal, the small Himalayan country is still counting the losses from its worst natural disaster in recent history.

The latest estimate is that of the damage sustained by Nepal’s creaky healthcare system. Almost a third of the country’s public health facilities have been damaged or destroyed in the aftermath of the quake, a new report (pdf) presented to Nepal’s planning commission has reckoned.

In all, the earthquake destroyed 446 public health facilities—including hospitals, primary health care centres (PHCC) and health posts (HP)— and 16 private establishments. In addition, 701 public health facilities are partially damaged, along with 64 private health establishments. The country had a total of 4,468 public and private health care facilities.

http://qz.com/428062/the-april-earthquake-wrecked-a-third-of-nepals-already-miserable-healthcare-facilities/