Most of us must have seen the horrific scenes from India that have followed the severe second wave of COVID-19. India’s neighbor, Nepal, is now going through a similar, if not worse, humanitarian crisis due to COVID-19.
In the last two weeks of April alone, COVID-19 cases skyrocketed by 668%. The export restrictions on COVID-related medical supplies and vaccines from India to combat their internal public health crisis have worsened the health care situation in Nepal. Large hospitals are turning away patients for lack of oxygen and lifesaving drugs. Nepal’s prime minister has reluctantly appealed for help from the international community.
The Johns Hopkins University, particularly the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the School of Medicine family, have had decades of long-standing relationships with Nepal through groundbreaking research collaborations. Our colleagues are deeply worried about the impact of this crisis on the population of Nepal. At this critical time, we are asking for support from the JHU community.
Based on inputs from Nepali colleagues and students affiliated with JHU, we have created a list of trusted partners and organizations who are working on the ground to address the emerging needs of the communities. Kindly consider donating directly to one of these non-profit organizations:
Health Foundation Nepal (Dang, Lumbini Province)
Health Foundation Nepal (HFN) is a non-profit that implements primary health care projects in rural Nepal. HFN will utilize funds to provide telehealth and psychosocial counseling to COVID-19 affected individuals, establish community isolation centers, and support community surveillance in Western Nepal. Johns Hopkins faculty, Binita Adhikari, serves on the executive team. The foundation is accepting donations in both the U.S. and Nepal.
America Nepal Medical Foundation (Kathmandu, Bagmati Province)
America Nepal Medical Foundation is a non-profit organization with over two decades of collaborations with the government of Nepal to improve healthcare across Nepal. Johns Hopkins faculty, Bijay Acharya, is a former board member. The foundation is accepting donations in both the U.S. and Nepal.
Nepal Ambulance Service (Kathmandu, Bagmati Province)
Nepal Ambulance Service provides EMT and ambulance services free of charge to people who can access the services by dialing 102. Stanford University-trained EMTs provide this service. They will use the funds to continue to provide ambulance services as well as food and medications to patients and communities in need. The organization accepts donations in both the U.S. and Nepal.
Nepal Development Society (Chitwan, Bagmati Province)
Nepal Development Society (NeDS) is a Nepal-based non-profit organization. NeDS will utilize the funds for its ongoing efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on communities, such as provision of free facemasks, supporting rural health posts with physicians, door-to-door delivery of chronic disease medicine to patients, free hotline consultation by physicians, and distributing food and personal protective equipment to those in need. Johns Hopkins faculty, Dinesh Neupane, was a co-founder. The organization accepts donations in Nepal.
All donations are tax-deductible as per IRS regulations, and funds will be exclusively used for the public health response in Nepal. Please feel free to forward this email to others. If you have any additional inputs or questions about this effort, please email us.
This assistance is another demonstration of JHU’s global leadership to the COVID-19 response. To learn more about this growing humanitarian crisis, listen to an interview with Binita Adhikari and Anup Subedee, an infectious disease physician in Kathmandu, on the Bloomberg School’s podcast Public Health On Call.
Lastly, we would like to extend support to our faculty, staff, students, and alumni who might have connections with Nepal and are affected by COVID-19 in any way. Please fill out this form if you would like to be involved in relief projects in Nepal.
Thank you for your kindness.
Sincerely,
Rajiv N. Rimal, PhD
Chair, Department of Health, Behavior & Society
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Ellen J. MacKenzie, PhD ’79, ScM ’75
Dean
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Binita Adhikari, MSPH, RN
Research Associate, Department of International Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Bijay Acharya, MD, MPH
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
JHU Armstrong Institute of Quality & Safety
Andrew Thorne-Lyman, ScD, MHS
Associate Scientist, Department of International Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
David H. Peters, MD, DrPH, MPH
Professor & Chair, Department of International Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Prativa Baral, MPH
PhD Student, Department of International Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Gyanu Lamichhane, PhD
Division of Infectious Diseases
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Dinesh Neupane, PhD
Research Associate, Department of Epidemiology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Porcia Manandhar, MSPH
PhD Student, Department of International Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Parul Christian, DrPH
Professor and Director, Program in Human Nutrition
Department of International Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Santosh Dhakal, DVM, PhD
Research Associate
W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Priyanka Agrawal, MScD, MPH
Research Associate
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Joanne Katz, ScD
Professor
Department of International Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Brian Wahl, PhD, MPH
Assistant Scientist
Department of International Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Ramesh Marasini, MS, PhD
Postdoc Fellow
The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Binu Koirala, PhD, MGS, RN
Assistant Professor
Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
Lawrence J. Appel, MD, MPH
Professor of Medicine with Joint Appointments in
Epidemiology, International Health and Nursing
Director, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Interventional Health
Johns Hopkins University
Nancy R Reynolds, PhD, RN
Professor and Associate Dean Global Affairs
Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
Gaurav Sharma, MD, MSc, PhD
Senior Technical Advisor - Maternal and newborn health
JHPIEGO, JHU-Affiliate
Janardan Devkota, MSc, MPH
Sr. Research Assistant, Department of Epidemiology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Prakriti Shrestha, MSPH
Research Coordinator, Department of Surgery
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Kshitiz C Paudel, MD, MPH Candidate
Bloomberg School of Public Health
Johns Hopkins University
Shristi Ghimire, DVM, MS
Sr. Research Specialist, Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Daniel Erchick, PhD, MPH
Assistant Scientist
Department of International Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Dhana Hamal, PhD student
Department of Political Science
Johns Hopkins University
Mukesh Hamal, MPA, MSc, Ph.D.
Student, MS Applied Health Sciences Informatics Program
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Chakra Budhathoki, PhD
Associate Professor
Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
