Dear friends around the world,

 

Like the rest of the world, here in Nepal we are shocked by the rapid and severe spread of coronavirus and the devastating impact it is having on lives and health care facilities, even in wealthier nations with more established health care systems.

 

UMN has two hospitals – Tansen and Okhaldhunga – serving up to 150,000 patients a year in their rural districts. They have been preparing seriously – in planning, making and sourcing PPE and training staff. If there is an outbreak in Nepal, they will be our frontline responders. BUT, even without COVID-19 reaching our hospitals, our staff are already facing a different danger. 

Up to 80% of our hospital income comes from patient fees for outpatient services and elective surgeries. But in recent weeks as patients stay away from hospitals (initially through fear of contagion, now also due to the lockdown), we’ve seen a severe shortfall in this income – a reduction of 80-90%! That’s over USD 300,000 per month during lockdown.

 

Without new sources of income for salaries, our hospitals may need to lay off staff – just when we most need to scale up for coronavirus response.

 

Our hospitals are trusted by and vital for the people of Tansen and Okhaldhunga (including the poorest who can receive free treatment). Would you or anyone you know consider donating to support our hospitals and save our staff? We need our hospital staff now more than ever, and we need to save them for the future to continue serving their rural communities!  

Please see also our attached video explaining this need.

Please note:  Donations will go towards our hospitals in this time of coronavirus, or towards other coronavirus-related responses if we receive enough for the hospitals.  We have a list of priorities for coronavirus response. 

Please see COVID-19: impact on Nepal and UMN for more information about the expected impact of coronavirus on Nepal, our hospitals and UMN’s cluster work, and our planned responses.