KATHMANDU, Nepal--In the remote, conflict-ridden communities of Western Nepal, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is initiating a new project that will improve the access and delivery of reproductive health and basic public health services, providing mobile reproductive health camps, and other support services for more than 21,000 people within the districts of Kalikot in the Mid-Western Region and Accham in the Far-Western Region of Nepal.
"This project is a huge gain for vulnerable communities in these regions," said Yvan Castro, country director for ADRA Nepal. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Nepal, a lack of access to health care, information and education, is a contributing factor in the high levels of illness and death among Nepali women.
The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) through ADRA Germany funds the 12-month project, entitled "Delivering Reproductive Health (RH) Services through Outreach Medical Clinics to Remote, Vulnerable, and Conflict Affected Populations of Nepal".
By the project's completion, at least 350 women will receive surgery to correct severe uterine prolapse, a debilitating reproductive health condition that affects an estimated 600,000 women in Nepal. In addition, an estimated 21,200 people will receive basic and reproductive health treatment at mobile camps.
Other project activities include training for treating basic reproductive health problems, identifying and providing counseling for gender based violence cases, educating couples on family planning methods, how to avoid contracting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and AIDS, and how to prevent and treat uterine prolapse.
ADRA Nepal is implementing this project in close collaboration with the Government of Nepal's Ministry of Health and Population's Department of Health Services, Regional Health Directorates, the Nepalgunj Medical College Teaching Hospital, District Health Offices and other district stakeholders and government agencies.
Since 2005, ADRA Nepal has implemented similar projects funded by ECHO and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in 18 districts in the Far and Mid-Western Regions of Nepal. Currently, 113,315 women, men and youth have received health services through ADRA Nepal's health camps and 447 women have received uterine prolapse surgery.
Registered with the Social Welfare Council, ADRA Nepal has steadily grown over the last 21 years and now has a diverse program in 34 districts of Nepal.
For additional information about the Delivering Reproductive Health (RH) Services through Outreach Medical Clinics to Remote, Vulnerable, and Conflict Affected Populations of Nepal project, visit www.adranepal.org.
ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.
For more information, visit www.adra.org.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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