Lar, Gorkha
CHHEKAMPAR BIRTHING CENTER AND OUTREACH CLINIC

In contrast to the beauty of the Tsum Valley is the lack of access to medical care for the local population – it has always been our dream to create sustainable basic medical care for the population of the Tsum Valley. Thanks to the Austrian Scouts and the province of Vorarlberg, we were able to start the construction of a small health post at 3,200 meters above sea level in the fall of 2014. The local committee of all 13 villages was responsible for this. The concept was designed together, and each family worked a certain number of hours on “their” health post. In 2016, despite delays due to the severe earthquake in 2015, the building was formally inaugurated. Since then, for the first time, women here have been able to have children in a clean and hygienic environment (instead of in a cowshed).

The health post and birthing center consists of six rooms for the treatment of patients, one sick room each for men/ women, a pharmacy, a maternity ward, a staff room and a kitchen and toilets. There is a continuous power supply for the provision of health services during the night and in the event of a power outage, the supply is supported by solar energy. Prenatal care, obstetric care, and postpartum care are provided at the facility, which has contributed to a dramatic reduction in the mother-child mortality rate in these remote regions. In addition, the health post provides family planning services, counseling, and training in health and hygiene (so we can prevent disease before it occurs and provide a knowledge transfer) and, of course, primary medical care, wound care, etc. All services, including medicines are free of charge for the population.

A young woman from Tsum Valley was taken under the care of an experienced nurse and midwife after her three years of training as a medical assistant at Lar Health Post. The same girl took over the operation and training of the new government nurse in the summer of 2019. In fact, since 2019, the Nepalese government has been staffing our very first birthing and health post in Tsum Valley. They also cover all other follow-up costs such as medicines and salaries. This is what sustainable development cooperation looks like!