Public Health Trends in Nepal with Kirk Dearden- by Sam Dearden

Community Health Trends

I spoke with Kirk Dearden, Ph. D. who is the Deputy Chief of Party at Save the Children International in Kathmandu, Nepal. He also happens to be my father. All statistics are taken from a March 2013 Suaharra baseline report.

1.       Malnutrition- Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, has a massive problem with malnutrition. This is caused by lack of access to foods other than dal bhat (rice and lentils). Dr. Dearden’s project aims at introducing vegetables into Nepali diets. There is some good news however. Growth stunting in children under five has dropped by sixteen percent since 2001. The uppermost income quintile’s health has notably improved. However, for some reason the rate of stunting has increased among Nepal’s poorest quintile.

2.     

           Family Planning- As a poor nation, Nepal does not have the most advanced family planning program. Only 32% of women are doing something to avoid pregnancy, which means that children will be born at inconvenient times and likely become a burden on impoverished Nepalis. A mere 33% of women have been counseled on healthy timing and spacing of pregnancy. It would be interesting to see how many of the 32% of women who are doing something to avoid pregnancy are also receiving counseling on timing in pregnancy.

3.     

           Sanitation- Sanitation is a huge problem in Nepal. Drinking water is not clean. Open defecation in public areas is common. Fifty-seven percent of all households practice open defecation. Dr. Dearden is also working on creating Open Defecation Free Areas. Together, Dr. Dearden and I have travelled to various locations in Nepal and there are many signs informing citizens that they cannot defecate in certain zones. Only around ten percent of mothers know how to properly wash their hands. Disease is common due to poor sanitations practices.

4.   

            Maternal and Neonatal Care- Many Nepalis do not have access to modern hospitals for birthing. About half of all women have antenatal care, which is pretty good considering that much of Nepal’s population is rural. However, only 15% of mothers received postnatal visits from health professionals. Only half of babies receive neonatal care in the first three days. This is really alarming because infant mortality could be greatly lowered with more care. When it comes to taking care of kids 73% receive vaccinations.

5.   

           Agriculture and Food Production- Many Nepalis live in rural areas and have about half a hectare of land to cultivate. More than 80 percent of households own large animals and many more own smaller animals. Living in close proximity to animals enables diseases to spread through excrement. Women often bear the brunt of agriculture’s downside as 89% of them are disempowered, meaning that they do not receive equal benefits from agriculture.