Location: Western Rukum District

Project 1: Strengthening Partnerships for Maternal and Child Health

Project 2: Improving Livelihood & Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (Wali, Pilot Project)

Partner: Human Development and Community Services (HDCS)

Western Rukum is a district in rural Nepal, nearly 280km west of Kathmandu, where roughly half of the people live below the poverty line. Life expectancy is only 70.2 years and child mortality rate for children under 5 is 33 deaths per 1,000 live births. Sanitation is also problematic, with more than 20% of households having no toilet facilities.

Project One: Strengthening Partnerships for Maternal and Child Health

Goal of the Project

This project will be a role model for improving the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) situation in the project area, through integrated health promotion and intervention at the facility and community level. It will be working in difficult and remote locations, dealing with highly vulnerable and marginalised communities. The project will help those who are mostly deprived of essential Maternal and Child Health services in their community.

The components of health promotion include extensive health education sessions in the community among mothers’ groups. This improves the awareness and knowledge level of pregnant women and mothers. Awareness will be raised about the fact that early identification of complications in pregnancy can help to prevent maternal and child deaths – as can malaria prevention measures, such as the use of bed nets.

In 16 targeted areas in the Western Rukum district, the goal is:

Progress Update (from July ’21 until June’22)

To help improve the lives and wellbeing for mothers and children in Nepal, donate today.

Project Two: Improving Livelihoods & Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Goal of the Project

Opportunities in the Western Rukum district to improve livelihoods are limited, especially for women from marginalised castes, or with a disability, or those who do not have a husband at home. Schools in the district face shortages of toilet and water supply facilities. As a result, girls are unable to attend classes regularly during menstruation.

The project’s objectives are two-pronged:

  1. Increasing the livelihoods of 40 women to provide for their children,
  2. Improving access to water supply and sanitation and hygiene practices for 855 students in three schools.

The project creates opportunities for vulnerable women through agriculture and livestock training and loans to improve their livelihoods. These families are the ones most likely to withdraw their children from school, especially girls, to reduce expenses and to assist with earning income.

Progress Update (from July ’21 until June ’22)

To help improve the livelihoods of women and access to water, sanitation and hygiene for students in Nepal, donate today.