Day 22

Medical treatment for a needy person in Nepal

Of shamans and western medicine

Access to medical care in the mountainous regions of Nepal

Those stomachaches again! Dil Bahadur has to take a break from working on the fields that his family has been cultivating for generations. The family was actually large and everyone did the work together. But now his daughters are married and have moved into their husbands' houses, and his son has gone to Kathmandu to look for work. Dil had suffered from these stomachaches several times before. They were usually accompanied by a feeling of weakness and sometimes by diarrhea. The local shaman had given him herbs to take, which often helped, but this time it didn't get any better. Perhaps he should go to the hospital, which is a day's journey away... But how much would that cost?

need

Medical care for the poorest in the Amppipal region

activity

Financing of diagnostics and therapy at Amppipal Hospital Enabling treatment in medical camps

Measurable performance

Number of medical treatments that could be financed and people who participated in training courses at Ammpipal Hospital

Result

Measurable improvement in the health and health behavior of the local population

Systemically relevant impact

Strengthening local health care in rural areas and expanding access to medical care

background

Nepal is a tourist magnet. Around 800,000 visitors were recorded in 2012 (Ghimire, 2013). The centuries-old cultural assets of the Kathmandu Valley and the breathtaking mountains of the Himalayas attracted them. But only a few Nepalese earn money from tourism. A large part of the population still works in agriculture. Young people who see no future for themselves in the countryside move to the big cities, especially Kathmandu. But unemployment there is over 40% (CIA, World Fact Book, 2013). So many decide to go abroad, for example to Qatar, where they are building the huge facilities for the 2022 World Cup under poor working conditions.
The older generation has stayed in the countryside. They mostly live off what they grow themselves. Access to medical care is poor, as many doctors prefer jobs in Kathmandu. On average, there is 1 doctor for every 5,000 people (CIA, 2013). In Nepal, around US$35 per capita was spent on health in 2012 (Germany: US$4,683), with 60% being paid by the patients themselves (WHO, 2013). As there is no health insurance for the local population, the need for medical treatment can ruin a family.

The good deed

The provision and financing of medical diagnostic and therapeutic measures in a remote mountain region represents an important counterbalance to the prevailing trend: the hospitals and doctors are concentrated in Kathmandu and other larger cities in the south of the country. With your support, we can further expand our role model function of good medical care away from the centers and give the rural population access to it.