 RUMA RAJBHANDARI HAPPY MUMMY DAY: A mother and child at Achham's Bayalpata Hospital, which is run by the charity, Nyaya Health. |
In 2007, after a long flight to Nepalganj, a 16-hour drive over muddy and rugged roads, and a two-hour hike, we arrived at the Bajhang district hospital only to find no doctors; the only staff nurse was preparing to quit.
The entire hospital was run by village health workers and auxiliary nurse mid-wives. A middle-aged woman with three children stood at the hospital entrance.
"Where were your children delivered?" I asked.
"In my goth," she answered. ("Where else do you think, lady?" was her tone.)
"Did anyone assist youâ€"a midwife, your mother-in-law?"
"No."
"How did you cut the umbilical cord?"
"With my hasiya, of course."
She had had enough of my silly questions and hurried off.
Since 2007, there has been progress in maternal health in far western Nepal. In Bajhang, the Nick Simons Institute (NSI) supports the district hospital through the Rural Staff Support Program, providing an MDGP doctor who can carry out caesarian sections, training for anesthesia assistants and skilled birth attendants.
On 29 March, the first caesarian section ever was carried out in Bajhang, saving the life of a mother who would otherwise not have made the journey to the closest operating room in Dadeldhura.
In Achham, the group Nyaya Health runs the Bayalpata Hospital as a public-private partnership with the Ministry of Health. In a district where there were no doctors in 2007, there is now a hospital where services for hundreds of patients everyday are all free.
