What have we done in Accham to protect, and protect ourselves, against Covid-19?

In response to the consequences of the spread of the SARS-COV-2 infection, in early 2020, we initiated projects to distribute reusable masks, soap and information, and food for vulnerable women. We explain how it went.

The first case of Covid-19 took place in the Chinese province of Hubei, in December 2019. In Nepal, the first reported case was on January 23, 2020, by a Nepalese man who was returning from Wuhan. The patient recovered satisfactorily and his contacts came out asymptomatic. Nepal’s risk from the Covid-19 outbreak is high, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, due to the borders with China and India with low health security and high entry rate. The government deployed its limited means. The situation meant that, by working on the field with the Rato Baltin project, we helped in the fight against Covid-19. Concerned for the remote villages of Accham, where the Rato Baltin project has been taking place in recent years, and especially by local staff and project beneficiaries, with whom we regularly share close contact with, tools were needed in order to prevent the spread of the virus. Masks for Health has promoted the realization of reusable masks, the creation of jobs for local women, and the distribution of soap to guarantee a high level of hygiene, and raise awareness about the virus and how to manage it.

Based on the work of the Achham community

We have done this together with local health volunteers like JCI – Achham and representatives of the local governments. Also, the representatives of the municipalities of Janalibandali, Basti and Kalagaun had asked for our help in relation to the provision of food for people that were in a more vulnerable situation. We decided to focus on households with widows and children who had no access to a place to eat and no economic resources for closure and confinement measurements: the Food for Need project was done in parallel and related to prevention activities. With the local organization JCI- Achham, our local staff and the support of local policy representatives, we have been able to carry out these actions and collected the qualitative and quantitative impact. 800 people- mainly widows with children- have benefited from the food distributed like rice, lentils, oil, salt, and sugar.

Due to the exceptional crisis situation that we are living in due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, it has not been possible to implement the Rato Baltin project as we had expected. But we have been able to bring our help to the most remote villages of the Achham district through the Mask for Health and Food for Need projects. As an organization, we think that by developing these projects we have shown the ability to act quickly in times of health and economic crisis, use the resources – human, logistical, material- generated from the trust built and deposited over these last few years from the work of the Achham community in promoting the rights of women and girls.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed through Migranodearena and everyone who supports us. All you have worked on that too!

You can read our report, in this link.