Lalit, the first Doctors for Nepal student to graduate as a doctor in 2013, is dedicated to working in remote villages. Lalit is an excellent doctor but needs more training: 90% of rural hospitals in Nepal have no consultants and this lack of senior doctors is felt in these areas. Lalit is from a remote village and with doctors' pay in Nepal lowest amongst Asian countries, and postgraduate training costing $50,000 he cannot progress without our help. His education could save thousands of lives.
In Nepal there are few hospitals in the remotest parts of the country and very few senior doctors work in these areas. Patients in rural communities often have to walk for days to reach facilities but they deserve the same access to quality healthcare as those living in cities. Dr Lalit, born in a remote village, is dedicated to bringing healthcare to the poorest regions of Nepal, but needs postgraduate medical training to develop his skills and advocate for the health of rural communities.
Providing postgraduate training for Lalit will give him the skills needed to serve rural communities and the opportunity to bring about changes to an outdated health system. By educating a dedicated doctor to work in rural Nepal and by supporting him to continue to work in remote locations he will improve the health of thousands of people. But with few government-assisted postgraduate places on offer in Nepal, we are extending our project reach to include our 3 doctors and 6 medical students.
By bringing healthcare to thousands of patients who currently walk for days to reach basic medical care, deaths will be prevented, women and children will stop dying in childbirth and remote villagers will have access to much needed basic healthcare. Rural areas of Nepal average one doctor for every 150,000 people, compared to one for every 85 people in the Kathmandu valley. A single, experienced doctor dedicated to rural healthcare could have an immeasurable impact.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
