TALES FROM THE FIELD – COVID-19 Support in Nepal

The impact of COVID-19 has been felt hard in Nepal. As at 31st August 2020 there have been over 38,500 cases and 220 deaths. Cases are still increasing. The impact has been felt at all levels of the health system and by households across the country, especially the poor.

We are thankful that through our Women’s Health and System Strengthening project in Nepal we have been able to provide support to our partner hospitals, Birthing Centres and to women who received surgery earlier this year. While this support may seem small in the wave of the COVID-19 pandemic it shows how it is possible to reach out and support our friends across borders who are in need in this time.

This support has been possible in partnership with ADRA Nepal and through the funding of the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP)

We supported our partner hospitals, Scheer Memorial Adventist Hospital (SMAH) and Koshi Zonal Hospital with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Both hospitals have cared for COVID-19 patients and Koshi Zonal Hospital has been a key referral hospital for COVID-19 cases in Province 1 where we are working. Koshi set up a dedicated COVID-19 centre and we supported them in this through providing a new ventilator.

Our Women’s Health and System Strengthening project works not only at a hospital level, but right down to the community level in the four districts where it is operating in Province 1 and Province 2 of Nepal. We supplied PPE and hand sanitizer to Janakpur Provincial Hospital and to 10 Birthing Centres in one of these districts so that women could continue to safely access essential health services.

On a personal level, we also provided nutrition packages of rice, daal, salt, sunflower oil, soap and sugar to patients who had received uterine prolapse surgery earlier this year at Koshi hospital. Many of these women come from very poor households, and the support helps them with recovering from their surgery and coping with the adverse impacts that the COVID-19 situation has had on their daily life.