With four young kids waiting at home, Phunge Dalit had no choice other than to carry his sick wife, Jhupa Kami, on his back for a four day walk and on day bus ride to the Bayalpata Hospital. Jhupa Kami was suffering from Necrotizing Fascitiis , which required amputation of part of her foot. Another man at the hospital, named Parvati Regmi was undergoing the amputation of a gangrenous limb resulting from a trivial infection that was ignored. Necrotizing Facitiis and gangrene are common in Rural Nepal but easily avoided and controlled if addressed early on. Unfortunately, in such conditions, the treatments are uncommon.

The problem lies in that grass root health workers lack the skills to quickly recognize and address diseases with proper treatment, combined with the fact that the doctors who do have the skills are difficult for rural populations to access due to minimal infrastructure and supplies.

Bayalpata Hospital, Nyaya Health is trying to make a difference. It is the referral center for the far western region of Nepal and has been providing primary health services like Emergency, OPD and IPD, free of charge for the last decade. The hospital is building capacity for large-scale surgeries.

A surgical team from Kathmandu Model Hospotal, PHECT-Nepal recently partnered with the Nyaya Health team and as of last week had carried out 23 surgeries in 6 days. Despite the poor conditions, it has been important for local health workers to learn from more skilled PHECT colleagues, and for the more skilled doctors to learn about health challenges in rural areas.

The partnership continues to flourish and plans continue to develop for capacity building in Bayalpata.