Nepal commits to advancing digital health reform: Minister Poudel

Kathmandu: Minister for Health and Population, Pradeep Poudel, has reaffirmed Nepal’s commitment to digital health transformation while addressing the United Nations Regional Ministerial Meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Representing Nepal at the international conference, Minister Poudel highlighted the country's policy-level initiatives aimed at integrating citizens' fragmented health data. “Nepal has begun including population-related information in the national identity card and is working to generate integrated data by linking it to health records,” he said. Poudel emphasized that the lack of integrated data had previously hindered effective policymaking, but that challenge is now being addressed through ongoing reforms and inter-ministerial cooperation.

In a meeting with Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of the United Nations for Asia and the Pacific, Minister Poudel expressed Nepal’s expectation of technical support from the UN to overcome challenges in implementing digital systems.

Also speaking at the conference, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Population, Dhundiraj Niraula, noted that Nepal’s efforts in digital health reform have received encouraging feedback from the Asia-Pacific region. He shared that the ministry is in the final stages of formulating a population policy, in which the digital health system will play a key role.