Humla

What is it like?

In the Karnali Pradesh province of Nepal, Humla is the most northern district with a population of around 50, 858 people. Humla is the only district of Nepal that still is not connected to the road network at all. The road construction is currently in progress, but no bridges yet connect the district to the existing roads. The central small town of Simikot is usually reached via the small airstrip that can only accommodate small two-prop planes, for those who cannot afford to fly, Simikot is at least 4 days walk from the nearest road.. There is a small district hospital in Simikot, which is not always fully staffed, and there are only 12 health posts located across  Humla. Many of the smaller villages are up to a day’s travel from te hnearest health facility, and many of the health centres are not regularly staffed.

The Northern part of Humla is a largely pastoral Buddhist culture with herds of sheep and yak an important part of people’s lives; in the South, along the Karnali river where PHASE works, people try to scratch a living from poor and dry soil. The areas we work in Humla experience 46-61% food poverty on average so families can’t rely on subsistence farming; many families depend on at least one member working abroad or in daily wage jobs along road building sites or nearer the urban centres of Nepal.

Many families decide to send their children away for schooling, as they see no future for them in their community. This not only increases family debt but also puts vulnerable children at risk: Humla is one of the main areas of Nepal targeted by unscrupulous child traffickers who trade children as domestic slaves or to fake “orphanages” in the tourist centres and in India.

What do we do in Humla?

PHASE have worked in Humla since 2008, starting with  a health care project in two communities and slowly expanding to education and agriculture projects, aiming to tackle the problems associated with extreme poverty. In 2017, PHASE came to the end of a three-year project, funded by DFID, which increased the availability of healthcare services and nutritious food for isolated communities in Humla. This project focused on reducing child and maternal mortality and malnutrition; After the end of this project PHASE Worldwide continue to support the health post in the village of Maila in Humla. In the year 2017/ 2018, 8,045 patients, who would otherwise have had to travel 2 days to the nearest health facility or not have had access to healthcare at all, have been seen at this health centre. many people from neighbouring communities also come to Maila for healthcare, and the local government has repeatedly requested PHASE to continue supporting it at least until the road reaches Humla.