Surkhet, Feb. 19 -- year-old Ramita Thapa went into labour in Upper Khopri, a tiny village in ward 9 of Tila Rural Municipality, Jumla. Her family carried her on a stretcher towards Rasa Health Post, but she gave birth halfway through at Chayapatan, where snow lay two feet deep.

Khopri, home to just 60 households, is the rural municipality's most isolated village. Reaching the nearest health post requires a five-hour trek, including a 4,000-meter-high mountain pass. "When someone goes into labour here, they have to be carried on a stretcher, but most give birth along the way," said local health volunteer Tulsa Thapa. Ramita had previously delivered two daughters on the same journey.

On Monday, 18-year-old Karuna Dangi of ward 8 in Thuli...