The Big Give Christmas Campaign 2023: Impact a year on. Improving maternal and child health in Jair, Humla, Nepal

Thank you to everyone who kindly and generously donated to our Christmas Big Give Campaign in December 2023, raising an incredible £21,895.31 including our Big Give Champion The Coles Medlock Foundation who are also championing our Big Give Girls Empowerment Project in 2025.  

Some major successes we are very proud of which you helped achieve with your funding! 

• We reduced maternal mortality rates: we recorded no maternal deaths in this period.  

• Malnutrition reduced by 39% from 49% in 2022 (138 children) to 10% in 2024 (20 children) 

• Child malnutrition reduced by 22%, from 32% in 2023 to 10% in 2024  

• No new malnutrition cases were identified in the last two months of 2024. 

• At 79.3% we surpassed the Karnali regional average of 4th Antenatal Care visits (79%) and continue to work towards the national average of 81% despite the remote location.  

• At 81% we exceeded the 80% national average of women accessing institutional births, hugely improving on regional rates in the Karnali region of 72.5%, making births safer.  

• If we reflect on the Nepali fiscal year July 2023 – June 2024 the rates for 4th ANC visits were at 75% (which we are now improving upon) and institutional births were an amazing 90.4%. We are hopeful to see a similar % rate by the end of the fiscal year in June 2025.  

• The success of improved access to maternal healthcare and safer institutional births provided by PHASE is very much linked to a reduction in maternal and neonatal mortality.  

Female Community Health Volunteer meeting.

Information session on nutrition for mothers with children under 5.

Reproduction health session.

A dive into the malnutrition data!

Key: SAM – Severe acute malnutrition, MAM – moderate acute malnutrition.

The dates below the blue columns are Nepal dates which translate to 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Reduction in child malnutrition over time due to each child receiving crucial treatment 

This welcomed decline is a clear consequence of efficient Growth Promotion and Monitoring activities, which enabled PHASE to monitor almost 200 children at risk and inform and encourage families of malnourished children, (as well as the wider community), of the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, the preparation of appropriate weaning food such as Sarbottham Pitho (superflour porridge), the danger signs of malnutrition and the importance of early referral for identification and treatment to save lives. One of the ways PHASE ensures this health information is shared is by conducting Healthy Baby Competitions, which focus on the nutritional status of children under five. Prizes are awarded to well-nourished children as an incentive, while parents of malnourished children receive counselling and support on proper nutrition. These children are regularly monitored at home, and their parents are counselled on how to prepare Super Flour. 

Health Awareness Activities (See table 2 below for a list of this conducted this year)

Focusing on preventive and promotive care, PHASE health workers contributed three days a week to home and community visits, promoting awareness and providing patient follow-up. The goal of these activities is to enhance health and hygiene practices within the community.   The PHASE Nepal team prioritizes maternal and child health safety by regularly organizing meetings, orientations, and training sessions for pregnant women, mothers of children under five, Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs), and members of mother’s groups. At mother-in-law meetings essential knowledge on the care of young children, pregnant daughters/daughters-in laws, lactating mothers, importance of nutrition, and rest and regular check-up during pregnancy is provided.  

Additionally, the PHASE Nepal health team also supports national campaigns, such as providing immunization services for children under five and conducting school deworming programs. In addition, PHASE coordinates with the local Health Management Committee for better health service in each remote area so we are always advocating for sustainable change for the future.  

Thank you so much for your Big Give Support of Jair: Together we are changing lives in Nepal! 

We are so proud of the dedicated work by our colleagues at trusted local partner PHASE Nepal: 

Auxiliary Nurse Midwives: ANM Kalpana Basnet and ANM Renuka Khadka 

Health Supervisor: Sagar Ghimire 

Programme Manager: Urmila Adhikari (credit for the PHASE Nepal report and data) 

Project Manager: Ganesh Kumar Shrestha and Health Officer: Sangita Baruwal.

We are currently looking for funding to continue this important work in Jair for another year. If you feel able to support this work please donate via the link at the top of the page or email Lyndsey lyndsey@phaseworldwide.org

Table 1. Summary of Patient Data from Jair Health Post January – December 2024 

Table 2