Community First Responders Training Camp

With such a diverse landscape, ranging from the massive Himalayan range to the Terai plains, the people of Nepal face a variety of life-threatening hazards. World Bank classifies Nepal as one of the 20 most disaster-prone countries in the world. Nepal is vulnerable to multiple natural disasters, suffering an average of 900 natural disasters each year resulting in lost lives and damaged livelihoods. These disasters include earthquakes, floods, landslides, windstorms, hailstorms, fire, glacial lake outburst floods and avalanches. In terms of relative vulnerability, Nepal has been ranked as the 11th most at-risk country in the world to earthquakes, 30th most at-risk to floods and landslides and 5th in terms of risk from the impacts of climate change. It is estimated that from a total population of 29 million, floods and landslides and various other disasters affect approximately 43,000 people annually in terms of loss of life, injury, missing and displacement. These disasters have imposed a devastating burden on people and communities throughout Nepal. Disasters occur consistently in a majority of the rural districts in Nepal with more than 90% of the population at high risk of death from two or more types of hazards.

Given the absence of roads in 70% of the mountainous regions, it remains impossible for rescue and retrieval teams to reach the victims and injured in time. The problem of emergency care in rural Nepal is further compounded by the shortage of health care workers. There is one doctor for every 18,500 people and one nurse for every 5000 people. Furthermore, the rural to urban disparity is reflected in the physician to population ratio of 1:850 in Kathmandu and 1:30,000 outside of the capital. The health workforce challenges are felt strongly in Nepal where mountainous terrain, limited infrastructure and a critical health worker shortage combine to create significant barriers to healthcare access and emergency care.

Community members play a critical role as first responders, particularly as gaining access to affected locations can often be difficult for emergency responders from other locations. This is especially true in Nepal, where geography and poor infrastructure can impede access to more remote areas. If community members are prepared as first responders, they can play a vital role in reducing the impact of disasters by providing light search and rescue as well as first aid services immediately after and during the relief phase of the disaster.