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Nepal: Livable Cities Project

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Nepal: Livable Cities Project

Project

Description

HealthBridge’s partner in Nepal is the Resource Centre for Primary Health Care (RECPHEC). It focuses on ensuring people’s rights to health and improving the health of urban residents. RECPHEC’s three current priorities are:

  • Access to Healthy Transportation – Ensuring people have pleasant, safe places to walk is important for health. It reduces injury rates and can increase physical activity levels, decreasing the risk of developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs). (NCDs include cancers and diabetes). Such places also encourage people to move about outside, and provide more opportunities for neighbours to meet. RECPHEC’s activities include creating a pedestrian-only zones throughout Kathmandu and organizing car-free celebrations with local communities called "Ktm Walks".
  • Access to Healthy Foods – The diets of urban residents are increasingly shifting from a focus on fresh vegetables and legumes to processed foods high in sugar, salt and fat. The result is increasing levels of obesity and NCDs. Past research conducted by RECPHEC has found that the food environment in Kathmandu can be improved through policy. RECPHEC is advocating for changes to food advertising policy by working with local organizations to raise awareness of the issue among elected officials and the media. In addition, RECPHEC is examining ways that the local public markets and mobile vendors can better support people's access to healthy foods.
  • Public and Open Spaces - After the April 2015 earthquake, there was an increased understanding among decision-makers and the community about the importance of public and open spaces. It is these spaces people turn to during times of disaster. RECPHEC is working with local organizations and government to examine ways to increase the number of public and open spaces for both recreation and disaster preparedness.

Project

Further Details

Project

Expected Results

Expected results include:

  • Increased number of people walking, cycling, and using public transit to reach their destination.
  • Decreased number of harassment incidents for women and girls walking, cycling and public transit.
  • Decreased number of people who are injured as a result of pedestrian/vehicle collisions and conflicts.
  • Decreased number of people being injured by the cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.
  • Decreased junk food advertising in Nepal on television, print, radio, and billboards.
  • Increased number of people who can walk to affordable, healthy, fresh food in markets in urban areas.
  • Increased number of public spaces
  • Increased number of safe and accessible parks and playgrounds.
  • Increased number of policies that ensures the preservation of open space.
  • Increased number of children playing in parks and playgrounds.