The Gar Tibet Health Project is a small nonprofit organization devoted to creating access to health care and improving maternal and child health in the remote, semi-nomadic communities of eastern Tibet. The health care needs in these isolated mountain communities are significant and critical. Villagers and nomads lack access to even the most basic health care.

View of Gargon village and monastery (blue roof) from the Upper Monastery

The women and infants of these communities are dying during childbirth at shockingly high rates. An estimated 1 in 33 births results in the mother's death, compared with 1 in 2,800 in developed countries. Approximately 1 in every 6 to 10 newborns does not survive.

The leading cause of maternal death is postpartum hemorrhage, from which a woman can die in one to three hours. Yet the absence of roads, transportation, and fuel in this remote area make it virtually impossible to reach the nearest medical clinic, which is a 4 to 5 hour drive over very bad roads. Gargon women often give birth outside, alone in the harsh mountain environment, without any access to emergency care.

Since 2004, the Gar Tibet Health Project has trained women in lifesaving techniques for preventing and treating postpartum hemorrhage, infection, and other complications. GTHP now looks forward to creating a permanent health clinic that will ensure long-term access to health care for the Gargon Community.

Project History

2004:

Donna Caplan, N.D. first visited eastern Tibet in August, 2004 at the request of one of the region's most respected Buddhist lamas, Garchen Rinpoche. During this initial evaluative visit, Dr. Caplan taught a two-week Maternal Child Health course, distributed birth kits and clothing, and provided much needed medical treatment to the people of Gargon.

Click here for more information about the 2004 Midwifery Training

2005:

In 2005 the Gar Tibet Health Project returned to Gargon with a team of ten health care practitioners, including a Tibetan doctor. In two weeks, the GTHP team accomplished over 800 patient visits, taught a Community Outreach Midwifery Course, and conducted a needs-assessment to help inform future projects.

Click here for more information about the 2005 trip

2006:

Five women from the Gargon area were selected by Garchen Rinpoche to participate in a two-year medical training program. In March 2006 these women began training with a Tibetan doctor. At the request of Garchen Rinpoche, and with the unanimous desire of the people of Gargon, our next goal is to establish a permanent health clinic at the Gar Monastery. An update to the 2006 trip will be put up soon.

Click here for more information about the 2006 trip to Tibet