Over the last three years, the Solukhumbu Women’s Health Project (SWHP) has been changing the lives of women in the remote communities of Waku, Chheskam and Taksindu of Nepal. This project began with the aim to develop the availability, quality and access of women’s reproductive and sexual health services. Since its inception in 2021, women of these communities have directly benefited from the project, including women like Radhika. Radhika is a mother of two and a Female Community Health Volunteer at the Waku Health Post. With the birth of her first child, Radhika shared her firsthand account of an experience all too common amongst women in her community.

“On January 16, 2021, my husband and I decided to travel to Phaplu District Hospital to deliver our baby, even though my due date was January 17,  the next day. We were very worried, so we left early, and the extremely cold weather in Phaplu made things difficult for us. We had to stay in a hotel for 10 days, which was quite expensive. On January 26, I gave birth to my first child, but it was not easy for us. The staff’s behaviour was not very good, the room temperature was not maintained, and I felt very cold. There was also no waiting room for visitors.”

Two years later, when Radhika was pregnant with her second child, the impact of the Solukhumbu Women’s Health Project was already tangible. The building of new health posts eliminated her need to travel to give birth – and they were staffed with trained health workers and necessary equipment. 

“During my second pregnancy, things were different. A well-equipped birthing centre had been built near our home. This meant I didn’t have to travel far, which made me feel secure. However, it wasn’t just the facilities that made me feel safe; it was also the caring attitude of the staff. As a health volunteer myself, I had observed the staff taking excellent care of other patients. I knew that if any complications arose, they would arrange transportation and accompany me to a referral centre. Because of this assurance, I chose to deliver my second child there. As expected, the experience was much easier compared to my first birth experience.”

With the issue of accessibility being addressed, a new challenge presented itself – encouraging local women to embrace the new birthing clinic.

“Although there is a well equipped birthing centre here, there were more cases of home deliveries than institutional deliveries because people were not aware about the risk of delivering their babies at home.”

Female Community Health Volunteers in remote communities of Nepal are often described as the backbone of Nepal’s health system. They encourage and educate their communities on the benefits of the development of healthcare facilities and the risks of going through childbirth without adequate care. They say it takes a village to raise a child and that sentiment rings true in Radhika’s community – especially when it comes to ensuring that women are delivering their children safely.

“Despite the initial challenges, convincing the community was achieved through teamwork, particularly the dedicated effort of the health staff. They constantly encouraged us to discuss the risk of home delivery, importance of antenatal and postnatal care visits. Now all women from my area have started to deliver their babies at the health post.”

As a happy mother and a proud health volunteer, Radhika is excited to see the continued impact of the Solukhumbu Women’s Health Project.

“I am very happy to witness the change as a service user as well as a service provider and this is all due to the efforts and contribution of Action for Nepal for building the birthing centre – and also for helping us advocate and lobby with our Rural Municipality. We felt very included by the Action for Nepal staff which has motivated us to contribute more to the community. I would like to express my deepest gratitude for this change.”

This project is funded by generous Australian Himalayan Foundation donors with support from the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

Posted September 2024

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