People In Nepal Research Articles

Disaster risk reduction knowledge of local people in Nepal

Nepal is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. A high proportion of the national GDP is lost every year in landslides, floods, and many other forms of disasters. A high number of human casualties and loss of public and private property in Nepal due to natural disasters may be attributed to inadequate public awareness, lack of disaster preparedness, weak governance, lack of coordination among the concerned government agencies, inadequate financial resources, and inadequate technical knowledge for mitigating the natural disasters. In this context, quite a few awareness and training programs for disaster risk reduction (DRR) have already been initiated in Nepal and their impact assessments are also already documented. However, effectiveness of the various implemented DRR programs is not yet evaluated through an independent study. The work presented in this paper explores local people’s knowledge on disaster risk reduction (DRR). Altogether, 124 local people from 18 to 74 years of age from randomly selected 19 districts of Nepal were interviewed focusing on various questions on disaster information, disaster knowledge, disaster readiness, disaster awareness, disaster adaptation, and disaster risk perception. The collected response data were statistically analyzed using histogram and independent sample t-tests to examine the DRR knowledge of people. An independent t-test analysis (Table 1) suggests that there is no statistically significant gender-based difference in disaster knowledge, disaster readiness, disaster awareness, and disaster risk perception of the surveyed people. Disaster adaptation capacity of the local people was evaluated and more than 60 percent of the respondents were determined to adapt state of disaster in the community. Findings of this independent research confirmed that the DRR education initiatives implemented in Nepal are not enough. The questionnaire survey results have pointed out at a few deficiencies in disseminating DRR knowledge in Nepal. We hope these findings will encourage the line agencies working in DRR issues in Nepal to modify their programs targeted for the local communities.

Knowledge of HIV/AIDS among adolescence at intellectual academy in Kumarigal-7, Tushal, Kathmandu, Nepal

Introduction: Young people in Nepal are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS because of their poor knowledge of sexual health, unsafe sex practices, and limited use of condom. Adolescence should be targeted for prevention programs because it is possible to modify adolescents’ behavior as they may not have developed unsafe practices or if developed, these behaviors are not deeply rooted. The objective of this study was to identify knowledge of HIV/AIDS among adolescence. Methods: A descriptive design was used. A total of 50 adolescence were selected by using simple random sampling technique (lottery method) from Intellectual Academy, Kumarigal-7, Tushal, Kathmandu. Self administered structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from January 10, 2006 (2062-9-29) to April 8, 2006 (2062-12-26). Results: Only 66% of adolescence had knowledge that HIV/AIDS is communicable disease. Regarding transmission of HIV/AIDS, 90% adolescence answered transmit through unprotected sexual contact, 84% through contaminated blood products, 90% through infected mother to child transmission, 52% through use of shared razors and 94% through use of contaminated needles and syringes. Regarding preventive measures, All the participants had knowledge of using condom, screening of blood before transfusion, and avoid sharing of needles and syringes as preventive measures while 92% as one faithful sex partner and 52% as avoid use of shared razors. Conclusion: Most of adolescence had knowledge regarding mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS through unprotected sexual contact; infected mother to child transmission and use of contaminated needles and syringes. Likewise, on the context of signs of AIDS and preventive measures on HIV transmission, adolescence had knowledge.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jcmc.v4i4.11971

An estimate of hernia prevalence in Nepal from a countrywide community survey

Background: Herniorrhaphy is one of the most frequently performed general surgical operations worldwide. However, most low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are unable to provide this essential surgery to the general public, resulting in considerable morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence, barriers to care and disability of untreated hernias in Nepal. Methods: Nepal is a low-income country in South Asia with rugged terrain, infrastructure deficiencies and a severely under-resourced healthcare system resulting in substantial unmet surgical need. A cluster randomized, cross-sectional household survey was performed using the validated Surgeons OverSeas Assessment of Surgical (SOSAS) tool. Fifteen randomized clusters consisting of 30 households with two randomly selected respondents each were sampled to estimate surgical need. The prevalence of and disability from groin hernias and barriers to herniorrhaphy were assessed. Results: The survey sampled 1350 households, totaling 2695 individuals (97% response rate). There were 1434 males (53%) with 1.5% having a mass or swelling in the groin at time of survey (95% CI 1.8–4.0). The age-standardized rate for inguinal hernias in men ranged from 1144 per 100,000 persons between age 5 and 49 years and 2941 per 100,000 persons age ≥50 years. Extrapolating nationally, there are nearly 310,000 individuals with groin masses and 66,000 males with soft/reducible groin masses in need of evaluation in Nepal. Twenty-nine respondents were not able to have surgery due to lack of surgical services (31%), fear or mistrust of the surgical system (31%) and inability to afford care (21%). Twenty percent were unable to work as previous or perform self-care due to their hernia. Conclusions: Despite the lower than expected prevalence of inguinal hernias, hundreds of thousands of people in Nepal are currently in need of surgical evaluation. Given that essential surgery is a necessary component in health systems, the prevalence of inguinal hernias and the cost-effectiveness of herniorrhaphy, this disease is an important target for LMICs planning surgical capacity improvements.

Wild Edible Plants Used by Endangered & Indigenous Raji Tribe in Western Nepal

The Rajis are one of the endangered indigenous people distributed in western part of Nepal enriched in their own mother tongue, culture, beliefs and practices. Owing to lack of proper documentation, the traditional knowledge of uses and practices on wild edible plants by such an endangered community is about to extinct. This paper aims to present the traditional practices and use of wild edible plants by Raji people in Nepal. Our study found that a total of 67 wild edible plant species included in 56 genera and 38 families used by Raji people. Out of them 62 species were angiosperms, one species was Gymnosperm and 4 species were Pteridophytes. The results of study show that Rajis have their traditional way to use different parts of wild plants such as seeds, fruits, leaves, shoots, roots and tubers in the forms of vegetables, pickles, juice, and raw or as fruits.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijasbt.v2i3.10969 Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol, Vol. 2(3): 243-252

Politics and Perceptions of Indian Aid to Nepal

India has significantly invested in Nepal’s development through economic assistance since 1952. Despite deploying aid to win the hearts and minds of the people of Nepal, India has not entirely succeeded in doing so. Paradoxically, an analysis of Indian aid and gaps in the planning, processes, modalities and perceptions of India’s motivation shows that it has possibly contributed to the fuelling of anti-India sentiments among the Nepalese population. Although Indian aid has not been refused, it has been resisted, and sceptical nationalist sentiments dominate perceptions of Indian aid in Nepal. Why is India not perceived as a major donor despite providing significant aid? Why do vested political and economic interests mar the public perception of Indian aid to Nepal? This article is an attempt to reconstruct the history of India’s developmental aid to Nepal, outline the trends, shifting priorities and modalities as well offering a critical analysis of the perceptions of Indian aid. The article is limited to development aid and excludes military aid and investments.

HIV-related sexual risk behaviors among male-to-female transgender people in Nepal

Transgender women are a vulnerable and key risk group for HIV, and most research has shown an increased frequency of HIV infection among this minority population. This study examined the prevalence of HIV-related sexual risk behaviors and the socio-demographic correlates with HIV-related sexual risk behaviors among male-to-female (MtF) transgender persons. Data were collected from a sample of 232 individuals through venue-based and snowball sampling and face-to-face interviews. The HIV-related sexual risk behaviors among the MtF transgender persons were: sex without using a condom (48.3%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 41.8-54.8), unprotected anal sex (68.1%; 95% CI 62.0-74.2), and unprotected sex with multiple partners (88.4%; 95% CI 84.3-92.5). Statistically significant differences were found for age, income, education, alcohol habit, and sex with more than two partners per day for these three different HIV-related sexual risk behaviors. MtF transgender persons with a secondary or higher level of education were three times (OR 2.93) more likely to have unprotected sex with multiple partners compared to those with a primary level or no education. Age, education, income, frequency of daily sexual contact, and an alcohol habit remain significant with regard to HIV-related sexual risk behavior. There is an urgent need for programs and interventions to reduce risky sexual behaviors in this minority population.

Dynamics of Population Ageing in Nepal and the Need for Action

Over the past decades, the problem of ageing has grown steadily in Nepal. The demographic measures obtained from different population censuses of Nepal amply demonstrate this. In this context, the present study attempts to analyze population census 2011 data to assess elderly population across the nation by area types, eco-belts, development regions and by gender perspective through computation of major population ageing indicators for these cross-sectional areas of Nepal. The analysis showed that the indicators like median age, proportion of elderly population, elderly dependency ratio and life expectancy at birth have increased significantly in 2011 census compared to 2001 census stressing the need of appropriate actions for the management, welfare and care of elderly people in Nepal. Even though population ageing is found more evident in urban areas regarding median age and index of ageing, percent elderly population aged 60 and above and elderly dependency are actually higher in rural areas which can be attributed to more out-migration of young people in rural areas. Eco-belt-wise, elderly dependency is found higher in mountain but other ageing indicators are at higher levels in hills. Development region-wise, western region shows relatively more ageing stress compared to other regions except that median age is found highest in the central region. Additionally, two semi-log statistical models that fit well are also built to associate percent elderly populations of Nepal with crude birth rate based upon population censuses of Nepal.

Nicotine Exposure, Blood Pressure, and Inflammation in Tobacco Smokers and Chewers in a Rural Community in Nepal

Tobacco consumption is high amongst the people of Nepal. This study was carried out in 2011 in a rural community of Nepal, to compare pathological parameters associated with tobacco use in relation to nicotine metabolism between smokers, chewers, and a control group. A total of 216 volunteers provided blood and urine samples for testing nicotine metabolites, C-reactive protein, and cell counts. Data were analyzed using ANOVA, correlation, and t-tests using STATA. Differences in blood pressure amongst the groups indicate a role of smoking in preventing a rise in BP with age, likely attributable to a different mechanism of metabolism of tobacco constituents.

Regional variation in pig farmer awareness and actions regarding Japanese encephalitis in Nepal: implications for public health education.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic disease that has pigs as the major amplifying hosts. It is the most important cause of viral encephalitis in people in Nepal and is spreading in its geographic distribution in that country. Pig farming is increasing in Nepal due to reducing cultural biases against pigs and government programs to support pig farming for poverty alleviation. Major strategies for JE prevention and control include education, vector control, and immunization of people and pigs. This study used a survey of 400 pig farmers in 4 areas of Nepal with different JE and pig farming histories to explore regional variations in farmer awareness and actions towards JE, the association of awareness and actions with farm and farmer variables, and the implications of these associations for public health education. Exposure to JE risk factors was common across pig farms and pig farming districts but there were significant district level differences in knowledge and practices related to on-farm JE risk reduction. Social factors such as literacy, gender, and cultural practices were associated with farmer attitudes, knowledge and practices for JE control. JE vaccine uptake was almost non-existent and mosquito control steps were inconsistently applied across all 4 districts. Income was not a determining factor of the differences, but all farmers were very poor. The low uptake of vaccine and lack of infrastructure or financial capacity to house pigs indoors or away from people suggest that farmer personal protection should be a priority target for education in Nepal. This study re-enforces the need to attack root causes of people’s personal disease prevention behaviours and take into account local variation in needs and capacities when designing health or agriculture education programs.

Introduction: Michael Allen and Newar Studies

Michael Allen is a pioneering figure in the study of the Newars, the indigenous people of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. Allen carried out his main fieldwork in Nepal between the mid 1960s and late 1970...

네팔 해비타트(HfH_Nepal) 생태주택 보급현황과 성능개선실험 연구 - 떠라이 평원지역을 중심으로 -

The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal(Nepal) is one of the poorest country in the world. People in Nepal are having lots of housing problems including the lack of housing provision. Even Habitat for Humanity Nepal (HfH_Nepal) has developed various programs to diffuse ecological housing, still there are many problems due to financial and technological shortage. The purpose of this study is to verify the effects of suggestion of performance improvement for HfH_Nepal eco house with introduction of the housing situation and efforts to provide sustainable housing by HfH_Nepal in Terai plain. Ideas on CGI sheet roof with poor insulation, double panel bamboo wall and adobe brick wall which can overcome structural and waterproof flaws of the thin single panel bamboo wall. The experiment result shows that both ideas adapted to adobe brick house reduces daily temperature range 50.8% and humidity adjust effect. For the effective provision of adobe brick house, compressive strength was tested for the bricks made with locally available fiber materials. Brick with jute displayed 41.1% betterment than plain brick with closest packing condition while coconut and straw showed 25.1% and 7.9% improvement respectively. Technical and economic problems brought up during the building and experiment process were listed and countermeasures established. This kinds of building prototype houses and experiments can improve the living conditions of people in developing countries with little supplement of resources. Furthermore, consideration of locally available and affordable material can help the social and ecological sustainability in the world.

Psychiatrist on Mission to Help Mentally Ill People in Poor Countries

Brandon Kohrt, M.D., Ph.D., studied to become a medical anthropologist and psychiatrist. With his formal education completed, he sees his destiny as helping people in low-income countries.

Modern Medicine and International Aid: Khunde Hospital, Nepal, 1966-1998

[Extract] Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008) is one of the most revered expeditioners of the 20th century. His groundbreaking ascent of Mount Everest with Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953, is still regarded as one of the greatest human achievements of modern times.​ However, few will be aware of Sir Edmund's philanthropy, in particular his establishment of the Himalayan Trust in 19642 to attract international aid to build schools, hospitals, and bridges to assist the Sherpa people in Nepal.​ One of the most notable but little-known of his achievements was the construction of the Khunde Hospital in 1964, which has been sustained by a mix of international volunteer and trained local health care workers. Modern Medicine and International Aid: Khunde Hospital, Nepal, 1966-1998 is a unique story of an international aid project that has become a celebrated symbol of Sir Edmund, the hero of Everest. The project clearly stands as an interface between modern Western medicine and the traditional beliefs and practices of the local Sherpa people.

Rebuilding the Ship while at Sea Introduction to the Special Issue on Nepal's Constitution Writing Process

AbstractIn order to understand the recent political and constitutional events of Nepal, and to discern feasible and fair ways to move forward, it is essential to consider the complex composition, circumstances and potential for conflicts by and among the many groups and minorities that constitute the people of Nepal. The future inclusion of marginalised groups requires the drafters of the Constitution to attend closely to various models and mechanisms for managing group claims and conflicts. They include a federal Nepal, various group rights, and a voting system of proportional representation. Closer scrutiny reveals that these demands may be interpreted and institutionalised in several ways consistent with the objectives and needs of the population, especially the desire to prevent domination by a predatory centre, and to bolster local autonomy. To understand and facilitate these developments, the present special issue explores several perspectives and analyses.

Antibiotic Susceptibility and Arsenic Tolerance of Urinary Bacteria Isolated from Arsenic-Exposed People in Nepal

Community-based information on antibiotic susceptibility of urinary bacteria is useful in clinical practice, including empiric therapy. Owing to evidence of coselection of metal and antibiotic resistance, there is growing concern on testing of such selective pressure in clinical as well as environmental bacterial isolates. We examined arsenic tolerance and antibiotic resistance in urinary isolates and their possible coselection among arsenic-exposed subjects. Urinary arsenic levels were assessed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Antibiotic resistance and arsenic tolerance of urinary bacteria were observed by modified Kirby-Bauer and minimum inhibitory concentration methods, respectively. The percentage of one, two, and multidrug-resistant urinary isolates were 30.4%, 37%, and 30.4%, respectively. Isolates showed variable tolerance to arsenic species. Gram-negative isolates were more tolerant to arsenic species than Gram positive. Although statistically insignificant, arsenic tolerance tended to increase from total susceptible to two-drug resistance. However, multiple drug resistance was not induced by the urinary arsenic (p>0.05). We observed moderately positive correlation between urinary arsenic level to arsenic tolerance of isolates (p<0.05). Although tolerance significantly correlated to urinary arsenic level, coselection/coresistance of arsenic to the antibiotic resistance in urinary isolates is inconclusive and remains to be further elucidated.

Barriers to sexual health services for young people in Nepal.

Although sexual and reproductive health education and services are provided to young people, current rates of HIV infection and pregnancy are increasing in Nepal, indicating that young people do not always use sexual health services. Health facilities have apparently failed to provide young people with specialized sexual health education and services. This study explored the barriers to using sexual health services, including condom-use among young people in Nepal. Participants from 10 focus groups and 31 in-depth interviews, carried out by a same-sex researcher, reported many socioeconomic, cultural and physical norms that impose barriers to accessing information on sexual health and relevant services. It is concluded that the establishment of youth-friendly service centres in convenient places might help encourage young people to use sexual health services.

Dating and Sex Among Emerging Adults in Nepal

Social and cultural changes in Nepal, including better communication facilities and transport, more urbanization and a rising age at which people marry, have created more opportunities for young people for “dating.” Our qualitative study explores whether the existence of dating cultures influences young people’s sexual behavior in Nepal. Focus group discussions with a total of 75 participants and 31 in-depth individual interviews were conducted among young people in Nepal. Most urban and rural young people liked the dating culture. Although it is a new kind of culture in Nepalese society, it is gaining popularity. The mass media were regarded as encouraging and creating an environment for dating. Most participants believed that dating culture encourages premarital and extramarital sexual behavior. The authors underpin their findings by linking it to the “emerging adulthood” framework. In terms of public health, they recommend that dating practice should be discussed in formal and informal education to promote safer sex.

Local voices on community radio: a study of ‘Our Lumbini’ in Nepal

This article explores local involvement in community radio and the changes that it has brought to the lives of ordinary people in Nepal. We argue that since Nepal's first independent radio licence was granted in 1997, community radio has become an important vehicle for popular views. Drawing on a case study of a radio series produced by a community radio station broadcasting Radio Lumbini's Hamro Lumbini (‘Our Lumbini’), this article addresses the ways in which local community involvement is currently understood and discussed by listeners and programme producers, and the implications of this involvement.

“Boys Remain Prestigious, Girls Become Prostitutes”: Socio-Cultural Context of Relationships and Sex among Young People in Nepal

One of the key characteristics of many developing countries compared to more developed countries is that theirpopulation is relatively young, and a proportion of those young people are becoming sexually active each year.The last two decades has seen a growing concern worldwide of the spread of HIV/AIDS, but, of course, youngpeople face a range of socio-economic, cultural, psychological and sexual health-related problems at that time oftheir life. Very little research has been conducted in this area into Nepalese young people’s problems. Ourqualitative study explores key problems faced by Nepalese youths with particular emphasis on sexual andreproductive health issues. The findings of ten focus group discussions with a total of 75 participants and 31in-depth individual interviews indicated that many young people of Nepal face a range socio-economic,psychological, sexual and reproductive health-related problems. Unemployment, less opportunity for sex andentertainment, stress, curiosity, communication gap and poor sex education and sexual health services werefrequently reported problems. In addition there was a gender difference around sex with young women (girls)having fewer opportunities and less freedom than young men (boys). In order improve young people’s sexualhealth, more attention needs to be given to rigorous research and the design and implementation of appropriateinterventions. Young people’s ability to make informed choices about their own health and risk behaviour shouldbe enhanced.

Responding to climate and other change processes in complex contexts:: Challenges facing development of adaptive policy frameworks in the Ganga Basin

The Ganga Basin, one of the world's most densely populated and vulnerable regions, is also among the world's most dynamic hydrological systems. Rivers exiting the Himalaya deposit massive amounts of sediment in the plains and shift their courses regularly. The natural dynamics of this system have a direct impact on populations. On August 18th, 2008, for example, embankments on the Kosi River (a tributary to the Ganges), failed and the channel shifted by as much as 120km (Sinha, 2008 [1]) displacing over sixty thousand people in Nepal and three and a half million in India. Transport and power systems disrupted across large areas. The embankment failure was not caused by an extreme event. Instead the breach represented a failure of interlinked physical and institutional infrastructure systems in an area characterized by complex social, political, and environmental relationships.Projected climate changes in the Ganga Basin are likely to greatly exacerbate vulnerability (Adaptation Study Team, 2008 [2]). While the Kosi breach had nothing to do with climate change, such events will increase if climatic variability, sediment transport, and extreme events increase. Understanding how populations can respond to the dynamic nature of rivers such as the Kosi is, as a result, essential to develop strategies for adapting to climatic change. Understanding is also essential at the policy level for building adaptive capacity. The challenge is to identify policy frameworks and their relationship to interlinked physical and institutional infrastructure combinations that create environments enabling adaptation within households, communities, and regions.This paper explores the challenges and opportunities facing the development of adaptive policy frameworks in the Ganga Basin. The characteristics of frameworks that are adaptive in themselves and enable adaptation along with their relationship to different types of interlinked institutional and infrastructure systems are explored first. Following this, the case of the Kosi embankment along with the projected impacts of climate change across the Ganga Basin is used to identify the key challenges and opportunities that are common in many regions. The paper concludes with specific observations on the development of adaptive policy frameworks for responding to climate change in complex developing country contexts.