In 1966 New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary, “hero” of Everest, built a small hospital for the celebrated Sherpas of Himalayan mountaineering. Throughout much of the world foreign aid and health care became deeply entwined during the second half of the twentieth century. Despite all the money that was spent, and all the reports and literature about aid and development, however, remarkably little is known about the implementation of projects or why health programmes may not be as successful as planned.

Set in the rugged, remote and high-altitude environment near the world’s highest mountain, this history of Khunde Hospital provides a detailed case study about both an ongoing encounter between Sherpas’ beliefs and practices about sickness and their use of “modern” medicine, and the implementation of an aid project that is situated against a background of changing ideas and practices in international aid.

Students of development studies, international health, medical history and anthropology will find this book not only engaging but rich in field-work data.