Free Health Camps

Nepal is a small country with a population of around 28 million people. 83.4% of the population lives in rural areas, and more than 25% live below the poverty line (2016). Adequate health care services are not easily accessible to millions of Nepalese. There is 1 doctor for every 100,000 people in rural areas of Nepal, compared to 1 doctor for every 850 people in the urban Kathmandu valley. Specialized medical treatment is only available at hospitals in urban areas, and many rural government health facilities lack basic equipment or have been closed for years due to lack of staff. Many rural inhabitants live in regions that are not accessible by road, and they have to walk for days to receive medical treatment.

Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) Nepal, in collaboration with local governments and NGOs, sponsors free health camps in rural and disaster affected regions of Nepal. We sponsor 1–3 camps each month, prioritizing communities who remain in temporary housing after the 2015 earthquake or those newly affected by natural disasters.

Communities and Partners

Free health camps are initiated when Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) is invited to villages by communities in need. Our local partner organizations obtain legal consent from local authorities, then an RMF program team visits the community to analyze the situation and approve a health camp. These health camps are set up in schools and other village buildings and staffed by Nepali physicians, medical consultants, paramedics, and nurses.

Services Provided

Each free health camp is tailored to meet the community’s specific needs, and in addition to free check-ups and health education, medication, contraceptives, or dental hygiene supplies are provided as appropriate. Depending on the communities’ needs, services offered during these health camps may include:

• General medicine
• Pediatrics
• OB/GYN
• Eye exams
• Dentistry
• Orthopedics
• ENT (ear, nose, and throat)

• Accessing remote villages
• Lack of up-to-date healthcare facilities in remote areas
• Finding local Nepalese doctors and medical professionals to staff rural health camps

RMF will continue to set up free health camps across Nepal. Our teams work to strengthen ties with local organizations and communities in order to bring easily accessible healthcare services to rural Nepal.