Support 300 Safe Births in the Nepal Himalaya

PHASE Nepal is currently supporting safe delivery, better antenatal checks and care during the pregnancy through its dedicated ANMs ( Auxiliary Nursing Midwives) in government health posts as well as in PHASE run clinics in 18 extremely remote villages in 5 mountaneous districts of Nepal.

Our village-based ANMs provide 24 hour services to several sensitive cases from the PHASE supported clinics. In addition to the day-to-day clinical services, these ANMs conduct door to door visits and awareness raising programme in the project villages.

A mother (aged 28) from Maila, Humla appreciated PHASE health services in the following words.

"As soon as my labour pains started my family took me to the Health Post. I met the PHASE sisters there. Following the suggestions I had got during their door to door awareness campaign, I visited health post the about five times during my pregnancy. The PHASE sisters conducted a safe delivery of my twin son and daughter. They said everything went well because I took good care of myself during my pregnancy as suggested by them. My son and daughter are both healthy. I really appreciate the service of PHASE Nepal in my village."

Professional help is particularly important during twin births, as complications for both babies and mother are much more frequent in these cases.

Kashigaun and Keraunja are remote VDCs of Gorkha, situated near the epicentre of the devastating earthquakes that first struck Nepal on the 25^th of April 2015. In these areas there are few or no basic services, while the hilly terrain means families are often unable to produce food all year round, putting them at greater risk of health problems. Following the earthquakes, the health posts in both Kashigaun and Keraunja were badly damaged. In the absence of health posts, the people in both the VDCs had to access health services in temporary and hugely inadequate facilities. It was therefore of paramount importance to construct new health posts to provide at least basic health services.

PHASE Nepal oversaw the construction of pre-fabricated health posts, following technical guidance set out by the Ministry of Health (MoH). One particularly important construction was the birthing centre. Mortality rates in the region are very high, owing in part to a lack of knowledge of important hygienic precautions. Only 2% of respondents to a 2016 survey used a recommended antibiotic cream for cleaning the umbilical cord stub, while 16% did not apply anything. The construction of a birthing centre therefore provides an important hub of knowledge for these populations, as well as the practical equipment necessary to ensure safe births. The centre and health posts were equipped with stethoscopes, digital thermometers, weighing machines for infants and adults, cervical repair sets, resuscitation sets for infants, and vacuum pumps. In addition, furniture such as mattresses, pillows, cots, instrument trolleys, and new born resuscitation tables were provided to both health posts.

The construction of pre-fab health posts and the birthing centre will allow people to access services that were disturbed by the earthquake. By providing a clean, safe environment as well as all necessary equipment, health posts are a vital facility for improving the health of remote communities.

Links:

• http://www.phaseworldwide.org