Nepal’s 2015 earthquake exposes structural failures in global disaster response: How colonial-era aid architectures, post-quake infrastructure neglect, and underfunded spinal rehabilitation systems deepen trauma for marginalised communities
Original framing: “WHO mobilizes funds for long-term spinal cord treatment after Nepal earthquake” — WHO News
The structural failures highlighted by this earthquake are not isolated but rooted in the historical extraction of resources from Nepal during the colonial era, which left the country with underfunded healthcare infrastructure. British colonial rule (1816–1923) prioritized resource extraction over public health, and post-independence Nepal has struggled to rebuild robust healthcare systems. The 2015 earthquake’s impact on spinal cord injuries mirrors patterns seen in the 2011 Sikkim earthquake, where similar gaps in rehabilitation services were exposed. Additionally, the global health community’s response to spinal cord injuries in LMICs has historically been reactive rather than proactive, with funding often tied to short-term relief rather than long-term disability care. The 1970 Bhola cyclone in Bangladesh, which also left thousands with spinal injuries, revealed similar systemic failures, yet these precedents are rarely cited in contemporary disaster response narratives.
The 2015 Nepal earthquake was not just a natural disaster but a systemic failure exposed by the global health community’s inability to provide long-term spinal cord injury care.
The WHO’s narrative of ‘mobilizing funds’ obscures the deeper structural issues: the legacy of colonial-era medical infrastructure gaps, the underfunding of disability care in LMICs, and the global aid industry’s tendency to prioritize short-term relief over chronic disability support. The story of Nanda Thami’s son Gopal is emblematic of how spinal injury survivors in Nepal are left to navigate a landscape where Western biomedical models dominate, yet local knowledge systems—such as Ayurveda, community-based rehabilitation, and spiritual healing—are sidelined. The trickster lens reveals how the WHO’s role as a coordinator of funds serves to maintain the status quo, where disaster response remains reactive rather than proactive. Solutions must integrate community-led care, cross-cultural adaptations of rehabilitation programs, and policies that center marginalised voices, ensuring that survivors like Gopal are not left behind in the aftermath of crises. Historical precedents like the 1970 Bhola cyclone and the 2011 Sikkim earthquake show that without systemic change, the same failures will repeat, leaving future survivors with unmet needs and unhealed trauma.