Promoting health and wellbeing in Nepal

Health and wellbeing in Nepal

The third Sustainable Development Goal aims to vastly reduce the global maternal and infant mortality rates by 2030. Key parts of this goal also focus on achieving universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, ending AIDS, combating hepatitis and substantially reducing the number of deaths caused by hazardous chemicals and pollution.

These issues are particularly relevant to Nepal, where regulations regarding the usage of toxic chemicals are lacking or not always enforced. Nepal has an unacceptably high infant mortality rate of 28.4 per 1,000 live births, while access to family planning services is often circumscribed in what remains a highly patriarchal culture.

Our direct impact

Seven Women aims to uphold this goal by providing women with self-care classes and by moving to phase out all hazardous chemicals from our production process. Acting on the logic that economically empowered women and their dependents are far less susceptible to disease, as well as infant and maternal mortality, we have provided over 5,500 women with education, vocational training and employment.

These opportunities have been especially important for marginalised and disabled women, who often lack the necessary support networks to avoid poverty and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Through this mutually reinforcing combination of education and economic empowerment, entire Nepali communities have benefitted from higher levels of well-being.