Serving Nepal's poor for two years
Posted on Jun 21, 2011
Today marks the second anniversary of Nyaya Health’s Bayalpata Hospital.
Nyaya Health works with the Nepali Ministry of Health and Population to develop health care services in the impoverished western regions of the country. Working to advance the solidarity model of Partners In Health, Nyaya aims to scale-up not only medical services, but also services targeting other population-level interventions.
Nyaya is one of PIH’s six supported projects, each dedicated to implementing the organization's philosophy on a global scale by working with local communities and governments to create change.
Today, Nyaya Health cofounder Ryan Schwartz shared some of the organization’s successes in an email.
Dear friends and family,
Last month a 29-year-old woman walked for over a day, and then rode on a tractor for another half day, to reach Nyaya’s Bayalpata Hospital. She had begun having labor pains more than a day earlier and had already been bleeding quite a bit – there were unfortunately no functioning health centers anywhere closer for this woman. Our team of doctors and midwives met her upon her arrival at Bayalpata, and she delivered a healthy little girl in a clean and safe healthcare facility several hours later. Unfortunately, she then suffered from a post-partum infection, but due to the excellent care of Bayalpata’s staff, she and her newborn daughter walked home healthy several days later.
When Dr. Jason Andrews, Nyaya’s Co-founder, first visited Achham over five years ago, there was no hospital. In fact, there was not even a functioning health center. In 2008 Nyaya opened the first health center in the region, and on June 21st, 2009, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Population, Nyaya opened the Bayalpata Hospital.
Today we are proud to celebrate Bayalpata’s second anniversary, and on this special day offer our deep gratitude to the staff who make Bayalpata’s services a reality, to our partners in Nepal and throughout the world, and to you our supporters, without whom this work would simply not be possible. Since 2006 when we first visited, Achham has grown and developed immensely. With the support of the government, Nyaya, and other critical local non-profit organizations, Achham’s infrastructure, services, and even healthcare have improved markedly. Two years ago, and certainly five or ten years ago, women like the patient described would not have had access to even basic healthcare. Today services like roads have improved, and through your support, there is a rapidly growing healthcare system with a hospital, improved community health centers, a community health worker network, and even ambulance services.
Yet sadly, Achham also remains one of the poorest regions in South Asia and has appallingly high rates of poverty and illness; while there are daily stories of success, there remain unconscionable tragedies. And so today – on this second anniversary – Nyaya has recommitted to Achham and to the struggle for equitable healthcare. We envision an Achham in which women are not forced to walk for two days to deliver their babies, and we dream of a world where future generations will not believe such stories ever had to be told. We thank you again for your continued support – we are deeply proud of Bayalpata Hospital and of each and every success that has come from its work – and look forward to working with you more to continue the success of the last two years.
Warm regards,
Ryan Schwarz
Vice President of US Operations
Learn more about Nyaya Health.
