Nepal

Mother and child health and nutrition, Child Protection including fighting against trafficking and exploitation

Active in Nepal since 1985, Terre des hommes (Tdh) runs projects dealing with health, nutrition and child protection. In 2010, more than 170’000 people benefited from the activities implemented.

Context

After years of turmoil, the political situation in Nepal is still unstable with frequent strikes that regularly paralyse the economy. Climate change also leads to food shortage deepening the population’s already weakened situation. Children are especially vulnerable. Health wise, they suffer from malnutrition, poor standards of care and environmental hazards. Mothers lack the knowledge to recognise the early signs of illness and are often powerless to treat or prevent them. The lack of antenatal and postnatal care is responsible for thousands of preventable deaths every year, with one out of 25 children dying during the first month of their life. Education wise, many poor families are unable to cope with the costs involved. Gender and social discrimination deepens the vulnerability of girls and dalits. Children are moreover faced with violence, abuse, exploitation and trafficking.

Our intervention

Health and nutrition – Tdh and its partner Chhimeki run a project aiming at improving the nutritional status of children in Kathmandu and Lalitpur. Thanks to growth monitoring, home visits, psychosocial support, volunteers’ mobilisation and women empowerement, communities’ knowledge and attitude in issues related to health, rights and nutrition are improved.

Brick kilns industry – In 20 factories, Tdh and its partners promote mother and child health, address malnutrition issues and develop sustainable child development centres. Tdh also helps develop codes of conduct to eliminate child labour. Further information on www.brickclean.net.

Orthopaedic rehabilitation – Trainings, mobile camps and specific treatments enable physically disabled children to reach optimal functional independence and to facilitate their social reintegration.

Anti-child trafficking – In addition to the introduction of minimum standards of care in shelters, Tdh insures the social and economical rehabilitation of children and women victims of sexual exploitation. From brothels to the Indian border, Tdh protects and supports the victims, their voluntary repatriation to Indian shelters and their total rehabilitation. Tdh runs prevention activities in communities in order to avoid child recruiting and trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Child protection – First project in Nepal to work on all the alternatives to parental care at the district level to create short, medium and long-term foster care options and thus fight against unnecessary institutionalisation.

• 85.316634 27.668425

  Lalitpur

• 85.521305 27.632414

  Banepa

• 82.648659 28.395206

  Rolpa

• 82.128067 28.378473

  Salyan

• 81.952057 30.057922

  Humla

• 82.183299 29.276914

  Jumla

• 85.318251 27.706221

  Kathmandu

• 85.230446 27.059309

  Rautahat

• 85.063591 27.14855

  Bara

• 85.191879 27.403837

  Makwanpur

• 82.391052 29.124813

  Mid-Western Region