Nepal has made remarkable achievements in the health sector over the last several decades. Yet many challenges persist that need to be addressed.

In order to help raise the standards of health services in urban as well as rural areas in terms of qualified doctors and medical equipments, and also to discuss these issues, including the future of health in Nepal, the Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS) is set to hold a consultative meeting in Kathmandu from January 29 to February 8 on “Strategic Planning for School of Public Health and MPH Program” with support from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Several national public health specialists will attend this meeting, including several international academic public health leaders representing different reputed universities from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, South Africa, and Switzerland.

The inaugural meeting was held on January 29. Hon.

Member of National Planning Commission, Prof. Dr. Shib Kumar Rai, was the chief guest at the event.

Similarly, Dr. Arjun Karki, Vice Chancellor of PAHS, was the chairperson while Dr. Pravin Mishra, Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), and Dr. Lin Aung, WHO Country Representative, were also present at the meeting.

MOHP itself has outlined various plans and strategies to tackle these challenges in its Nepal Health Sector Program – II (NHSP-II) – which emphasizes on the critical needs to strengthen the health system in general and human resources for health in particular.

source: Republica,31 Jan 2012