Opinion | The two-hour map
Summary
A flood corridor in Rasuwa exposed major gaps in Nepal’s emergency obstetric care, where many designated facilities could not function when roads were destroyed. The article argues that Nepal must strengthen a smaller network of reliable hospitals, backup routes, and disaster-ready referral systems to save pregnant women during future crises.
Key Points
- The article links a recent glacier-collapse flood in Rasuwa to delays in emergency obstetric care for thousands of pregnant women downstream.
- A UNFPA-supported review found that Nepal’s EmONC network has too many designated facilities, but many are not fully functional.
- The proposed solution is to optimize and disaster-test the network using GIS tools, backup routes, helicopter protocols and stronger priority facilities.
- The story argues that Nepal must shift from simply expanding access to ensuring facilities remain operational during floods and landslides.
