Sustainable development and health in rural Nepal
fields
rural development

post-disaster relief

health

water and sanitation

Notwithstanding the improvements in the socio-economic indicators of the last few years, Nepal still sits at number 145 in the United Nation’s list of countries by Human Development Index (2016 data). There is still a huge need for further support in the areas of agriculture, health, water and sanitation, and local sustainable economic development, particularly at rural household level. Nepal is a good case study when it comes to inter-disciplinary sustainable development: a fairly isolated country, yet open to the outside, it has been receiving a fair amount of attention from the international community in the form of aid and development projects. However, many efforts still follow circumstantial needs (e.g. post-quake aid, tourist-oriented development, easy NGO playground), there is still little to no coordination, and projects are usually driven by good will more than scientific data. This study aims to uncover the structural weaknesses of the most improvement-needed areas of agriculture, health, water and sanitation, in order to provide a database of information for the perusal of the broader international community, the private and government sectors, and all partners involved in development projects in Nepal and beyond.