Medical Mission to Nepal: 2015

Like hundreds of humanitarian aid workers from around the globe, with support of Cordaan, the Netherlands based health care providing institute for elderly, Dr. Lakshmi Prasad Dhakal, the Executive Director of the Punya Foundation Inc, rushed to Nepal in an attempt to offer medical treatment to the earthquake victims. In his medical rescue mission to...

Like hundreds of humanitarian aid workers from around the globe, with support of Cordaan, the Netherlands based health care providing institute for elderly, Dr. Lakshmi Prasad Dhakal, the Executive Director of the Punya Foundation Inc, rushed to Nepal in an attempt to offer medical treatment to the earthquake victims.

In his medical rescue mission to Nepal, the Farmadam provided with a package of basic and emergency medicines and medicaments. The Farmadam is Amsterdam based pharmaceutical institute woking in the sector of elderly care. Further, Farmadam is engaged in medical reviews and issues surrounding poly-pharmacy. 

During the medical mission, Dr. Dhakal joined the team of Non-Resident Nepali Association (USA). With a team of doctors, nurses and volunteers, the rescue team provided medical services to a dozen of patients each day. Patients of all ages attended the medical rescue clinic. The patient population was predominated by women, elderly and children. The most common presenting complaints were injuries sustained during the earthquake, infected wounds, other systemic infections, psychological trauma and generalised pain.

On 25 April 2015, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8 on Richter Scale hit Nepal. It was followed by several major quakes and aftershocks. The epicentre located at Barpak village in Gorkha district caused huge destruction especially in Gorkha, Sindhupalchok, Bhaktapur, Rashuwa, Kathmandu, Dolakha, Dhading and Lalitpur districts. According to the Nepalese Ministry of Home Affairs, as of May 2015, the death toll from the devastating earthquake reached 8,600, the number is expected to increase. At least 22,000 people have sustained injuries and 5,996 were hospitalized due to major injuries. Several thousand people were displaced; approximately 70,000 in Kathmandu and many more in the rural villages, where the entire inhabitants are making their living under makeshift shelters made out of plastic sheets. Around 5,00,000 houses are destroyed. This devastating earthquake left many children orphans, and rendered them homeless. The exact number of orphan children is yet to be established, but a preliminary survey estimated that around 125 children have lost at least one of their parents.

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