By Tony Sharpe | Project Leader
Winter is a quiet time in the Hidden Himalayas. Heavy snow and blocked trails and mountain passes make it very difficult to move around. Nevertheless, Humla does not come to a standstill and people continue to move on and make a difference; there is always something to do. We have delivered the Birthing Centre equipment to the government health committee in Syada VDC but await to hear of further developments. Once the trails clear we hope to hear more and will let you know how it is all developing.
Syada is not part of the Nepal Trust network of Health clinics but run by the government. We are very happy to help to ensure that all clinics, when we are asked, receive our support and encouragement.
I am very happy to report that there is now clear evidence that our health programme is improving the general health of the populations in the areas we work in. In the four year period between 2013 and 2016 there have been significant decreases in the numbers of patients with diseases and infections caused by poor hygiene and general lifestyles. This is due to the hard work of our clinic staff who provide health advice as part of their everyday duties. It is also the product of our unique Little Doctors programme of health training for school children that teaches basic health, hygiene and lifestyle choices. This programme is now running four courses a year in selected schools in Humla teaching over 85 pupils. The idea is that these pupils go back to their families and siblings and pass on what they have learned, so reaching a much wider audience.
In 2013 the Trust operated five clinics. This is now increased to seven clinics in 2016. The records show a considerable improvement in certain health areas further accentuated by the increased workload. The main improvements are notably in the areas where good health education has the biggest impact. For example, food or waterborne disease such as diarrhea and enteritis, the number of cases have dropped from 1434 to 774 in 2016. Skin diseases have dropped from 986 to 555 and diseases of children under 5 years of age have dropped from 469 to 356.
The drop has been less marked, but still there, in diseases of the respitory, urinary and reproductive tracts from 1699 to 1648. The slow improvement here is largely due to the continued lifestyle of living in enclosed, poorly ventilated and smoky homes. However, our renewable energy programme is continuing to expand to provide clean energy and smokeless stoves to more and more families. it will only get better! A more detailed 2016 summary is attached to this report.
Many, many thanks to all of our friends and supporters for all your help and encouragement over the years. Your donations are essential so that our work can continue in this remote corner of the world but your encouragement means such a lot to us when often faced with insumountable odds! We have never been defeated yet, not even by a war, and it is largely down to you that has kept is going. Please pass this report on to your friends and encourage them to support us too.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
