Kusha Thapa

Bournemouth University – Tribhuvan University

In Nepal, people with mental health problems are highly stigmatized. As part of the partnership, a series of workshops were organised to provide mental health training for maternity care providers, a much neglected area.

Ms. Kusha Thapa, an Auxiliary Nurse/Midwife (ANM), completed her ANM course in 2012. She then worked as a volunteer in a district hospital, where she had the opportunity to sharpen her knowledge and skills.

“More than half of the women did not have any pregnancy check-ups and nearly 80% of births used to occur at home…. Women were anaemic and did not seek any care from the health facility. Even if they did, the facilities were closed for many days or run by unskilled staff.

When I came here, people had less trust in the health post. Many women in the area were deprived of health information and services. I started to work in the out-reach clinics and the birthing center, and people started to come to me for help with any and all health problems!

In the past one year, I received training on mental health from Bournemouth University-Tribhuvan University partnership, funded by THET. I realised women have many mental health issues, which they do not express and we were unable to recognize before the training.”