Mountain rescue facilities in Nepal need to be built up from scratch.
When considering 'mountain rescue infrastructure in Nepal and the institutions dealing with accidents in the Nepal Himalaya, the name that immediately springs to mind is the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA), in existence for more than 20 years.
This, despite the word 'rescue' in the Association's name being problematic. 'Preventive rescue' is more in its line, concerned as the HRA is with the health of tourists and with dispelling their ignorance about mountain sickness. Running two health posts during the peak trekking seasons at Pheriche in Khumbu and in Manang, plus an information centre in Kathmandu, the HRA is hardly a pan-Nepal Himalaya rescue association.
The Association's outposts serve more to complement the nominal government health services in their areas of operation. Manned wholly by volunteer doctors from the West (no Nepali has served a full season), the HRA posts do fulfil one essential need. Radio contacts are made by them on a daily basis with the Kathmandu office. As a result, the HRA has often helped in getting SOS's across to the concerned agencies and authorities.