Nepal Public Health Conference 2025: Two-day debate on challenges and opportunities of the federal health system

Nepal Health News, Lalitpur.  The Nepal Public Health Conference 2025 has begun on Friday, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of Nepal's health system in a federal context.

The conference, organized by the Nepal Public Health Association (NEFA) at the Nepal Administrative Training Institute in Jawalakhel, Lalitpur, has seen significant participation from policymakers, public health experts, researchers, and stakeholders.

The first session of the first day of the conference, which began with the main slogan “ Challenges and Opportunities of Health Systems in a Federal Context ,” featured a comprehensive discussion on the topic of ‘Governance and Policy in Federal Health Systems.’ The session, chaired by Dr. Pramod Joshi and Naresh Prasad Joshi, featured various presentations on health services from local to remote village levels and the new opportunities and problems brought about by the federal structure.

The panel discussion that followed included former Director General of the Department of Health Services, Mahendra Prasad Shrestha, Head of the Policy Planning and Monitoring Division of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Krishna Poudel, Prof. Dr. Kedar Prasad Baral, and Dr. Gunaraj Awasthi. They shared their views on policy coordination and possibilities for reform between the federal, provincial, and local levels.

In a separate session on health finance and resource management, chaired by Sudarshan Poudel and Supendra Karki, a debate was held on economic inequality, problems seen in access and utilization of services, and measures for financial reform in a federal context.

Similarly, another session was attended by Dr. RP Bichha, member of the National Planning Commission, Chandra Bahadur Thapa, chairman of the Health Insurance Board, and Pratap Poudel, chairman of the Public Policy Pathshala. The session was facilitated by Praveen Dhakal, editor of the Health News magazine.

Day 2 focused on inclusion and accessibility

The second day of the conference will feature a discussion on the topic of 'Inclusion, Access and Social Inclusion'. The session will be chaired by Durga Khadka Mishra, Dean of Madan Bhandari Institute of Health Sciences, and Dr. Dilip Kumar Yadav, member of the central committee of NEFA. The session will present research on infertility, delays in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, and life satisfaction of senior citizens.

The session that follows will feature Madhusudan Subedi, Dilasaini Rural Municipality Chair Santosh Joshi, and Nepal Nursing Council Registrar Shukla Khanal. The session will be facilitated by journalist Rimsa Silakar.

The 25th General Assembly of NEFA will also be held during the conference. It is expected that the ideas, research, and suggestions presented at the conference will make a significant contribution to policy formulation and implementation in Nepal's federal health system.