In the countries of the Himalayas where ASIA works, tackling disease is very distressing not only for the physical and psychological suffering that it brings, but also for the resulting financial problems, that are, at times, insurmountable.
In these countries, health care is not free but prohibitively expensive.
These areas are still characterized by a high prevalence of endemic diseases and a high maternal-infant mortality rate, where knowledge of basic health and hygiene standards is very poor, drinking water difficult to access and health facilities insufficient.
To cope with this situation ASIA intervenes in various ways: building hospitals and village clinics, training local health personnel, supporting traditional medicine, focusing on awareness on basic health and hygiene education and creating hygiene systems.
Another type of intervention in support of health that we have been pursuing for years is the Surgery for Living Fund, which allows us to respond to the many requests for help we receive from sick people who need urgent care but cannot afford it. Once the health and economic conditions of the person requesting it have been verified by our on-site teams, we cover the costs of healthcare, hospitalization, surgery or medical treatment through this Fund.
For example, we helped Guamo Kyid, a girl who was burned using a kerosene stove and had to undergo numerous surgeries; Tashi Wangyal, a young student suffering from nephritis who underwent a kidney transplant; Karma Tseso, who fractured a femur during the Yushu earthquake. And like them, many other people who needed to heal to start living again.
Health is one of the basic and fundamental rights of a person, it acknowledges our dignity. We want to protect it and assure it to as many people as possible.