Posted by Shefali Oza
Today, Nyaya Health marks our first anniversary of offering free clinical services in the district of Achham in Far Western Nepal. Before we arrived here, the district lacked a functioning medical facility and had no allopathic doctor for a population of over 250,000 people. The few patients who could afford to seek treatment elsewhere faced both long distances and travel times in this mountainous region. Unsurprisingly, this area has some of the worst health statistics in South Asia.
Traveling is often difficult in this mountainous region.
During this first year of Nyaya’s operations, we turned a dilapidated grain shed into a 5-room clinic with a full out-patient department, maternity ward, emergency care, pharmacy, and laboratory. Since the opening of our clinic on 6 April 2008, we have treated nearly 16,000 patients and have the only safe birthing center in this population. Through our pharmacy, we have provided free care for a variety of conditions, ranging from chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma to infections like tuberculosis and diarrhea. Our all-Nepali staff of 20 includes a doctor, health assistants, a pharmacist, lab personnel, and community health workers.
The grain shed (left) that we renovated into the Nyaya Health clinic (right) in Sanfe Bagar, Achham.
As we look back on this past year, we have been fortunate to see the benefit of Nyaya’s services to patients and their families. But we have also witnessed the consequences of the limited services we can provide with our 5-room clinic in this resource-denied setting. Over the course of this coming year, we plan to expand our care by moving to Bayalpata Hospital. This move will allow us to increase the essential services we provide to include needs such as surgical care, HIV counseling and treatment, and an inpatient unit in order to address the unacceptably high levels of morbidity and mortality in this region. We are also increasing our community health worker network to broaden our reach in the community.
We are excited to begin our second year of clinical operations in Achham. We have learned many lessons in this first year, and by continuously evaluating our protocols, expenses, and patient outcomes, we aim to keep improving our services. As always, our complete operational information can be found online at our wiki site.
On behalf of the Nyaya Health staff and volunteers, we thank you for your support as we complete our first year in Achham!
Members of the Nyaya Health staff in Sanfe Bagar, Achham.