IRIN News, the world’s leading provider of humanitarian news and analysis, published this shocking news on the medical situation of one of the most remote areas of Nepal, Achham.

Ram Hari Bista had to carry his 60-year-old sick mother, Nona, on his bare back for nearly six hours to reach the nearest functioning hospital. His local health center in the remote village of Rimikot in Accham district, 800km northwest of the capital, Kathmandu, ran out of medicines several months ago.

“The health care access is so bad in most villages that people die from simple diseases that can be cured with ordinary pills,” said Dhana Thakula, a 33-year-old Female Health Care Volunteer (FCHV) who has seen villagers die from diarrhea, pneumonia, typhoid, and several other curable diseases. “For how long can the poor villagers wait to get proper health access near their homes?” asked Sula Devi Nagarji, another health care volunteer.