ACHHAM, June 13 -- Mangala BK, 45, a native of Mangalsain, has been working as a health volunteer for the past 26 years. She is one of the first women in her village to start working in the field.

Since then, Mangalsain has welcomed many more women health volunteers like Mangala. And over time, villagers have come to place their trust in these women volunteers and believe that having women at the helm of health care services in their area helps the villagers come forward with their problems.

Ganga Bista of Mangalsain-5, a new mother, is thankful for Mangala's presence in the village, she said, "I had some post-delivery complications and Mangala was the one who took me to the District Hospital. It would have been extremely difficult for ...