USAID supports to expand children's hospital with disabilities

By Kedar Timalsina,Banepa, May 5: USAID will be providing support to enhance the service delivery of the Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children (HRDC), Banepa.

The Centre focuses on improving the efficiency and services provided to physically disabled children.

USAID through the American Himalaya Foundation, will extend diverse support to the Centre through the Surgical Innovation Project-2 Echo Plus programme.

Eroj Shrestha, the manager of the Surgical Innovation Project-2 Echo Plus, emphasised that USAID's assistance aims to enhance the Center's service delivery, making it more organised and effective as part of the project.

Shrestha elaborated that with the assistance of USAID, essential medicines and healthcare equipment will be procured and installed to streamline the treatment of disabled children at the hospital.

He also outlined plans for the construction of buildings dedicated to managing solid and liquid waste from the hospital. This initiative includes the purchase of equipment and the implementation of a waste management system to process and recycle wastewater. Also, arrangements will be made for municipal sewage management.

Since many children with disabilities still do not have access to treatment, they will conduct an orientation programme nationwide for equal access of children to health services under the project, he added.

He said that the project will help to expand the services of the hospital as well as follow the best practices used in the health sector in the United States, and use new technologies and equipment to treat children. The project, which started in December 2023, will run until September 30, 2026, according to the Centre.

The total budget allocated for the project amounts to Rs. 934,788. The project aims to contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Centre, which was established in 1985, provided high-level healthcare and rehabilitation services to 113,888 children by the second week of July (end of Asar) last year.

The hospital has been offering a range of aids to disabled children, including prosthetic arms, legs, wheelchairs, crutches, and specialised shoes. In addition to treating children with congenital disabilities, deformed hands and feet, infections, burns, drug-related issues, and tumors, the hospital also provides educational support to children undergoing treatment.