Saving Nepali mothers and babies district by district

Thirty years ago, an average of 900 mothers out of every 100,000 died at childbirth in Nepal. By 2016, this figure had fallen to 239 maternal deaths.

This noteworthy progress in mother and child survival over the past 30 years has been a success story of the government working with international partners.

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New research published on Women’s Health and conducted by One Heart Worldwide and Medical Aid Films shows that socio-culturally adapted educational films increased maternal and newborn health knowledge in pregnant women and female community health volunteers in Nepal’s Khotang district.

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A new cold storage facility, funded by Direct Relief, will expand the health system's ability to store temperature-sensitive therapies.

It was a night that Rita Ale Magar says she will never forget. Bhavana, 17, from remote Dumre Dara village walked 2.5 hours to reach a birthing centre of Udaypur.

The underage mother was already 16 days overdue, her blood pressure was alarmingly high and she was going through prolonged labour. She was having difficulty pushing out the baby and was in severe pain.

This was the most complicated case the centre had received, and the nurses were understandably nervous. But Nurse Rita had to lead the team and take the decision to try to save both the mother and her baby who were at high risk.

Episode title: “Surya Bhatta, a champion for the wellbeing of pregnant women and newborns in Nepal”

Description: Surya Bhatta grew up in Nepal in what he describes as typical village life. It was when he was studying public health that he had a confronting conversation with his mother and learned about the horrific circumstances of her labour with Surya's sister that his mission to provide better healthcare for women and children crystalised.

Puspa Pandhak was just finishing her duty at a rural hospital in Tehrathum district last week when a 19-year-old woman was brought in on a stretcher, writhing in pain.

As a birth attendant nurse, Pandhak had performed more than 100 safe deliveries in the past five years, but this maternity case was the first breech she was having to deal with.

“As soon as I saw the position of the baby, we decided not to take the risk and take her to Tehrathum Hospital,” Pandhak says.

But, as is often the case in rural Nepal, they could not get an ambulance. The condition of the mother and baby was deteriorating, and every second counted.

Luckily, a four-wheel drive jeep just happened to pass by and gave them a lift. Pandhak and fellow nurse Sumnima Khapung got on with their patient, taking along their delivery kits.

In this episode, we sit down with the One Heart Worldwide Nepal Team and discuss their history, organization, makeup, and future plans.

Direct Relief-Chartered Airlift Bound for Nepal Amid Covid-19 Surge

“Direct Relief has the privilege of having worked with many extraordinarily skilled and committed Nepali partners, and we will do whatever we possibly can to help. We are profoundly grateful to the people and businesses whose contributions have made this airlift possible.”

Nepal-based organizations, including One Heart Worldwide, Dhulikhel Hospital, and The Covid-19 Crisis Management Center, will receive the Direct Relief-donated supplies in Kathmandu and distribute them to hospitals and clinics throughout the country.

As the number of COVID infected patients continues to rise, so does the demand for oxygen. Even in Dolakha, the number of patients who need oxygen has started increasing. Considering this situation, Charikot Hospital has received 10 (46 liter each) cylinders of oxygen today from One Heart Worldwide.

There is shortage of oxygen for treatment at a time when COVID cases disease are on the rise. This could jeopardize the lives of the infected person. Therefore, the hospital has been provided oxygen cylinders with the objective of relieving the supply of oxygen and facilitating the treatment of the infected, said Gaurav Acharya, Dolakha District Coordinator of One Heart Worldwide.

One Heart Worldwide has distributed oxygen cylinders to Trishuli Hospital and Rasuwa Hospital in Nuwakot.

On Monday, District Coordinator of the organization Mohammad Aslam Shaikh and Field Supervisor Sajana Pandit handed over 10 cylinders each to Rikesh Rana, Hospital Management Officer of Trishuli Hospital and Meshu Bhavani Keshi for Rasuwa Hospital.

Oxygen cylinders have been handed over for the treatment of Covid-19 infected patients and to provide oxygen relief, said Mohammad Shaikh, district coordinator of the organization.

Saving Nepali mothers on Mother’s Day

Unlike many of her nursing colleagues who yearn to go abroad or find a job in a city hospital, Rita Khatri returned to her home village in Okhaldhunga after completing her training as a skilled birth attendant in Kathmandu.

It was not easy for the 21-year-old to be taken seriously by her own community in Phediguth village of Champadevi Municipality, she had to earn their trust and respect one safe delivery at a time.

One Heart Worldwide, an international non-governmental organization that has been running maternal and newborn health programs, has provided oxygen and other health items to various health facilities in the district. While the country is battling the second wave of Covid-19, the organization has provided 20 units of 46 liters of oxygen and other health items to facilitate the treatment and management of Corona infected people in the district.

Nisha Giri, Ramechhap coordinator of the organization, said that the district hospital has been provided 10 units, the monthly primary health center 10 units of oxygen cylinders and other health items worth Rs. According to him, all the municipalities and villages of the district have been provided with necessary PPE sets, surgical masks, sanitizers and other health items.

One Heart Worldwide, an international non-governmental organization working in the field of maternal and child health in Nepal since 2010, has donated ten 40-litre oxygen cylinders to Methinkot Hospital in Kavre district.

The oxygen cylinders have been handed over in the first phase to Methinkot Hospital in Kavre district and neighboring districts including Ramechhap, Dolakha, Sindhuli, Nuwakot, Dhading and other district hospitals and COVID-care Hospitals.

Currently, the organization is actively working in 19 districts in the hilly and mountainous regions of Nepal. With the second wave of Covid 19, the shortage and demand for oxygen in Nepal is increasing.

Shortages of a Lifesaving Medication Threatened Mothers in Nepal. Direct Relief Is Sending 34,000 Doses.

One Heart Worldwide has been working with the Nepali government since 2010 to improve maternal and child health outcomes. Direct Relief has been involved with those efforts since the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

Partnering with One Heart Worldwide, Direct Relief spent $775,000 over four years to build, repair, and equip public birthing centers in rural Nepal, as well as train skilled birthing attendants to staff them. The organization has also donated more than $1.7 million in medical aid to One Heart Worldwide since the earthquake.

After the second wave of COVID-19 infection started in Nepal, there was a severe shortage of oxygen as well as ventilators. In the second wave, the virus became more contagious, with a large number of people infected at an increasing rate, and have been filling up hospital beds, many of which needed oxygen.

In some hospitals, COVID-19 infections have been reported due to untimely supply of oxygen. Even though the number of infected people in Nepal is declining, the number of patients admitted to ICU and ventilator has not decreased.

One Heart Worldwide, which has been running programs related to maternal and newborn health, has provided oxygen assistance to two health institutions in Ramechhap. While the country is battling the second wave of Corona virus Covid-19, 20 units of oxygen have been provided to facilitate the treatment and management of Corona infected people in the district, said Bhuvan Rai, Assistant Accounts and Administration Officer of One Heart Worldwide in Ramechhap.

According to him, the organization handed over 46 liters of oxygen to the District Hospital and Primary Health Center Manthali on Friday. Dipendra Narayan Shrestha, Deputy Chief of Oxygen District Hospital, Ramechhap, and Jyoti Prakash Sah, Medical Officer, Primary Health Center, Manthali were handed over by Rai, Assistant Accounts and Administration Officer, One Heart Worldwide.

In Rukum West, One Heart Worldwide has donated around 1.3 million items of various health care items. OHW, headquartered in the United States, has donated essential health care supplies to District Hospital Salle to facilitate the treatment of corona infections.

On Saturday, the organization organized a program at the District Hospital Salle with 5-liter capacity 2 Oxygen Concentrator, 8 Mini Oxygen Concentrator, 5500 N Night Fip Mask, 5500 Surgical Mask, 20 OT Ground, 10 Box Surgical Globes and 10 Oximeters Provided to the hospital.

Bhupendra Soni, staff from One Heart Worldwide, has handed over 1.3 million worth of health items to Bishnu Budhathoki, Acting Chief of District Health Office.

“What can be more fulfilling than saving lives?”

Stories of birthing are not the kind of conversation that children in Nepal usually have with their mothers. Surya Bhatta’s career path, however, took a new turn when his mother shared her own story of how she survived a near-death complication when she was giving birth to his elder sister.

His mother was married at 11, and had her first baby at 16. Access to health services in their home village in Dhading was limited at the time, and she suffered from severe postpartum complications.

One Heart Worldwide provides health equipment to Udayapur district

Out of the total 48 confirmed Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Nepal, 28 are from Udayapur district, supposedly making it an epicenter of the outbreak of the disease in the country.

Udaypur hit that number following the confirmation of one new case in the district by the Ministry of Health and Population on Thursday afternoon.

In response to the outbreak in the district, One Heart Worldwide dispatched the first installment of essential COVID-19 equipment, including the complete Personal Protective Equipment among others, and handed them over to Health Office Udayapur in coordination with the Ministry of Health and Population and the Social Welfare Council.

Hard labour: is this the most difficult place in the world to give birth?

The town is less than 100 miles west from Kathmandu, at the foot of the Nepali Himalayas, but the drive takes seven hours. Roads that start off cracked and uneven as you leave the city soon narrow and climb; tarmac tapering off into the distance as our driver zigzags his way around hairpin bends, sending small piles of dust and rocks tumbling over the cliff edge below. Soon, the road disappears altogether, and our 4×4 is forced to make its own track as our phone signal fades and we head towards the mountains.

Lacing the Toughest Terrain with Life Saving

“Can’t find a way there,” the computer woman says plainly when we pull up the GPS and enter Biratnager to Okhre, Nepal.

She should have an asterisk next to that phrase. Just because she can’t find a way there doesn’t mean we’re not going to try. We pile in the Land Cruiser and roll down the windows. The dust from the Nepali roads catches in our throats as we begin our journey. Two of us in the front, three in the back; gear, water, and luggage piled around us. Our destination is 49 miles as the crow flies, but 10 hours as the Cruiser drives, up and over the switchbacks.

‘We are in this together’: How 8 men in this rural Nepali village are upending gender norms around pregnancy and parenting

By the time the sun is out in Maidi, a rural town in Nepal, Sumin Shrestha has already been awake for hours. He starts his day by sweeping the dirt floor of his hut. Then, he goes to collect water before cooking rice for the morning. On the bed in the corner, his wife, Pabrita Shrestha, stirs, and he tries to remain quiet. She is four months pregnant, and he doesn’t want to wake her up.

Later, after serving breakfast, he’ll head to the forest to collect firewood before tending to the fields. Finally, he’ll make it back across the village to help Pabrita prepare the evening’s meal.

Nepal’s Renegade Strategy to Save Mothers

The program is currently underway in close to half of the country’s 75 districts — those where the health system is weakest. Like the government’s distribution of aid in the days after the quake, rollout has been plagued by bureaucratic delays. But distribution in those districts hardest hit by the earthquake is set to begin in the coming weeks. “We have authorization to do it, and we are going to do it — fast,” said Surya Battha, program director at One Heart Worldwide, a non-profit organization that assists the government in training the country’s Female Community Health Volunteers to distribute misoprostol and educate women on safe birth.