Earthquake Relief in Nepal

Silyanyash is a religious Nepali ceremony to lay the first stones for construction, creating the foundation for good fortune to prosper and evil spirits to disperse. During the early afternoon of January 27, the local people of Taple village in Gorkha district came together for Silyanyash. The community was taking the first step to rebuild their health post, damaged by the 2015 earthquakes. Nishu Karna, who is leading the construction, recalled, “Our previous health post faced limitations even before the earthquakes destroyed it. We faced a shortage of rooms, a lack of facilities, and an absence of critical maternal care for pregnant women.” 

The April and May earthquakes in 2015 not only brought destruction, but also attention to the already present needs of Nepal’s fragile health system. It ranks 145th out of the 188 countries on the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index. In Taple, the lack of quality health care even before the earthquakes impacted many of community members, but particularly pregnant women. The pregnant women suffering from complications would often travel hours to the district hospital, risking their life and the life of their child. International Medical Corps is responding to this need and building a birthing unit within the Taple health post where pregnant women can receive reproductive health services, like antenatal care. In this religiously and culturally diverse area in the hills of Nepal, the new health post will reach nearly 4,000 men, women, and children. 

In addition to rebuilding health facilities and providing reproductive health services, International Medical Corps is helping to improve the healthcare system to build back better and stronger, including: 

• Physical therapy and rehabilitative services, treating 872 men, women, and children grappling with cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, arthritis, soft tissue injuries, among other debilitating conditions with 1,894 physical therapy sessions;
• Nutrition treatment, establishing 3 planned stabilization centers to provide care for children under five years suffering from severe malnutrition;
• Water and sanitation, utilizing innovative methodologies where communities and schools take action to improve hygiene practices and to become open-defecation free
• Mental health, providing 51 health facilities with trained doctors, nurses, and midwives who can provide psychosocial care; and
• Prevention of gender-based violence, assisting 13,649 women and adolescents girls at 10 safe spaces where they receive case management care, sexual reproductive health and gender issue information as well as first aid kits or dignity kits, including sanitary pads, bathing soap, cloths, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and blankets.

Throughout our programming, International Medical Corps and nine local partners are closely working with people like Nishu and communities like Taple village, addressing health-related gaps and integrating training to build self-reliance. Our goal is to ensure that local communities in the earthquake-affected areas have the capacity to respond to the next disaster. 

International Medical Corps is extremely thankful for GlobalGiving and other donors’ generosity, helping reach approximately 719,000 men, women and children in 109 villages and 11 districts across Nepal. Together, we are constructing the building blocks for more resilient communities.