Projects in progress: a UK Aid Match team visit to Nepal to visit five grant holders

In May, the UK Aid Match team travelled to Nepal to visit grant holders and their delivery partners – EMMS International, PHASE Worldwide, Practical Action, United World Schools and WaterAid.

The visits were an opportunity to deepen our understanding of project progress and challenges and to offer support, for example, with safeguarding, reporting expectations, and financial management.

Below is a brief summary of the visits:

EMMS International are supporting people with holistic palliative care through cost-effective and sustainable health and social care services, and empowering family members and groups to provide support, improved healthcare and engender more caring societies.

Our team visited the Palliative Care Centre of Excellence based at the Green Pastures Hospital (GPH) in Pokhara. Here they observed remote mentoring sessions for the Palliative Care Doctors and Community Educators, through the ECHO tele-mentoring system (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes), a crucial forum for shared learning, identification of new palliative care patients and improving quality of patient care.

Visiting one of the rural health posts, our team met Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHV) who highlighted the growing awareness and value placed on palliative care as a holistic approach, which is a significant achievement in a country where the concept of palliative care is still very new.

A group of people stood outside a hospital in Nepal

Photograph: EMMS International, their delivery team and UK Aid Match team members Emma and Bridget outside one of the hospitals

PHASE Worldwide are improving maternal health and reducing malnutrition for 1,000 women and their children in Bajura, Far West of Nepal. This is a difficult location to access, requiring a seven-hour drive on rough terrain, followed by a seven-hour hike, which the Phase team undertake often as part of their work. The region is also prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes and landslides, and these can severely impact delivery of healthcare services.

Despite the contextual challenges and remoteness of the project PHASE is meeting and surpassing many of its project goals, and it was great to discuss this with them. The team has delivered safe motherhood training to 891 women and is seeing increasing rates of exclusive breastfeeding as a result (amongst other changes). The project also supports a range of agricultural skills training to help increase food production and dietary diversification for pregnant women and new mothers.

Photograph: A mother feeding her child a nutritious meal

Practical Action are working with women and marginalised groups in three rural districts in Nepal to build climate adaptive farming opportunities and improve livelihoods.

Having visited some of the project sites previously (in 2022), our team utilised this second visit to meet Practical Action project staff in their offices in Kathmandu. The project team shared updates and explored ways to further communicate the positive impacts of the project as it moves into its final stages.

The project has improved water access through innovative solar-powered irrigation systems, and has helped establish climate field schools which provide farmers with training on commercial vegetable farming, agroecology and regenerative agricultural practices. Some of the climate schools have introduced labour-saving devices such as electric corn shellers and farm rakes, helping women feel more empowered as they save valuable time and labour.

The project also has strong connections with district and regional private sector actors and traders which is a significant strength of the design. These linkages will be crucial for ensuring sustainability as the project comes to an end.

Practical Action are sharing more about this project at the COP29 talks in November, using it as a working example of how to achieve systematic change at scale.

United World Schools (UWS) are supporting children to enrol and stay in school in remote regions of Nepal, while developing education facilities, school management structures and supporting teacher employment and training.

During the visit it was clear that the positive collaboration between local government stakeholders (education offices) and the UWS team is a key strength of the project and the broader work of UWS, helping facilitate innovative educational initiatives.

The school communities appeared vibrant and supportive, with strong engagement from mothers, School Management Committees (SMCs), and Student Representative Councils (SRCs). These groups play a pivotal role in fostering a positive learning environment and nurturing the holistic development of students. The investment in infrastructure was also evident, with well-maintained school buildings, well-equipped classrooms, and productive teacher spaces, all contributing to an enriching educational experience.

Photograph: Members of our team visiting UWS Koksha School, Tumlingtar

WaterAid is enhancing the quality of learning environments for adolescent girls and children with disabilities in targeted schools of Bardiya. They are collaborating with schools, the broader community and authorities to improve access to sustainable, inclusive WASH services and menstrual health.

While the project experienced some delays in its first year, it was encouraging to learn about the progress being made and the positive direction of activities. The team highlighted that good coordination is developing with key stakeholders, such as The Ministry of Education. Menstrual health awareness training for teachers and local government staff has also started.

In the coming period, the project plans to install a new school water system, including a deep borehole, a water pump with bio sand filters, and dedicated handwashing and drinking stations.

Photograph: Sandhya, a participant in the project

A thank you

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the organisations and individuals involved with these visits. We really appreciated all your time and continued hard work.

In September, Performance and Risk Managers, Patrick Douglas and Tom Barton for UK Aid Match visited Nepal to see four UK Aid Match projects in progress and offer their support. These were World Child Cancer, Practical Action, United World Schools and ZSL.

In detail

In Kathmandu, World Child Cancer – an international children’s charity dedicated to addressing global inequalities around childhood cancer care – are working with partners Together Against Childhood Cancer (TACC) and Ramesh Gupta Memorial Trust (RGMT), along with Kanti Children’s Hospital, on a three-year project to improve paediatric oncology outcomes in the capital, as well as in provincial hospitals in Pokhara and Nepalgunj.

Over the three-day visit Tom and Patrick had the privilege of visiting the partners and Kanti Children’s Hospital (where the work is being implemented by TACC staff), meeting doctors and nurses, hospital directors, and the patients and families receiving life-saving cancer treatment, as well as financial and psychosocial support.

Despite working in a sector that was severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing a shortage of staff in nurses (across the Kanti Hospital departments), it was encouraging to be able to see the progress they have been making to strengthen the data systems and build the capacity of their staff, resulting in an improvement in care received by children with cancer.

Group of medical staff behind banner with words Training on early warning signs and symptoms of childhood cancer. World Child Cancer — Picture taken during training sessions in Dhulikhel designed to orient primary health care providers of the concepts and realities of childhood cancer and help them recognize signs and refer.

Match team members Patrick and Tom stand next to banner and oncology staff saying 'Nutritional food exhibition for paediatric oncology' — Pictures taken at Kanti Children’s Hospital. Oncology doctors and hospital nutritionists organised a number of tents and stalls displaying ways of preparing meals, food groups and suggested diets and meals specifically designed for parents of children with cancer.

Oncologists at Kanti Children's hospital show Match team a table with food and drink to demonstrate nutritional considerations for children with cancer — Pictures taken at Kanti Children’s Hospital. Oncology doctors and hospital nutritionists organised a number of tents and stalls displaying ways of preparing meals, food groups and suggested diets and meals specifically designed for parents of children with cancer.

Practical Action is an international development group focused on working with communities to develop lasting and locally owned solutions to climate challenges and gender inequality. This UK Aid Match project is being delivered in remote hills: in the Dang District – Dangisaran and Shantinagar municipalities -, Rolpa District – Rumtigadi, Triveni, Thawang and Pariwartan -, and Rukum East District – Bhume and Puthauttarganga. The organisation is working with partners, Development Concern Society (DECOS), to build climate-adaptive farming opportunities and improved livelihoods for women and marginalised groups.

Whilst the project had only recently started when the visit took place, the UK Aid Match team were delighted to be able to meet communities who had been selected to participate. Work had started in building water and market infrastructures, and planting the climate field school. Whilst there, they also spoke with the local government who had been involved with the project from the beginning, when selection had taken place of the most marginalised communities.

Group of women outside in field move cow dung for manure. Photo credit Practical Action — Dang Valley women being taught how to use compost from cow dung. Practical Action

Safeguarding poster is shown to a group of women by UK Aid Match Performance and Risk Manager Patrick — Dang Valley women being taught how to use compost from cow dung. Practical Action

United World Schools – an organisation whose mission is to improve life opportunities for the poorest children living in remote and marginalised communities through education – are working in the rural districts of Gulmi, Sankhuwasabha, Taplejung, Morang and Chitwan to deliver a three-year primary education project, focused on increasing enrolment and retention of children living there. Our team met their team in Kathmandu and gained a good understanding on the progress they had made so far – as well as the challenges they are facing in developing education facilities in such remote locations.

International conservation charity, ZSL are working with Himalayan Nature and Mithila Wildlife Trust to develop the Stewardship and Rural Development (STEWARD) model for poor and marginalised ‘frontier communities’ living alongside protected areas. These communities rely heavily on natural resources for subsistence and livelihoods and are vulnerable to illegal activities that offer a fast and high value return. This represents a major challenge for sustainable development and conservation.

The aim of this project is to improve the livelihood prospects and economic wellbeing of vulnerable people and to protect high-value wildlife in two critical conservation areas: the Terai Arc Landscape and Tsavo Conservation Area.

Thank you to all who showed us around. We look forward to sharing further your achievements and impact.