Kathmandu—Minister for Health and Population, Hon. Pradip Paudel, addressed the United Nations Regional Ministerial Meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand, representing Nepal on key issues related to digital health and integrated data systems.

In his remarks at the high-level meeting, Minister Paudel highlighted Nepal’s ongoing efforts to improve the country’s health information systems. He noted that Nepal has already initiated policy-level decisions to consolidate fragmented health data and integrate them with national identification systems. “We have begun linking demographic information with national identity cards, and efforts are underway to connect health-related data to create a unified national database,” he said.

Minister Paudel emphasized that the lack of integrated data has long posed challenges for effective policy-making. However, he expressed optimism that these reforms would help bring more structure and clarity to health governance. He also underscored Nepal’s commitment to strengthening inter-ministerial collaboration to advance digital health reforms.

During a bilateral meeting with Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Minister Paudel pointed out the technical challenges Nepal faces in digital transformation and called for greater institutional support from UN bodies. He also shared Nepal’s progress in making civil registration systems more inclusive and efficient, stating that the government has set ambitious targets to accelerate these efforts.

Minister Paudel also addressed a regional roundtable discussion as part of the broader conference.

On behalf of the Ministry of Health and Population, Joint Secretary Dhundhiraj Niraula also participated in the meeting. He noted that the positive feedback from regional peers has encouraged Nepal to intensify its efforts. “The ministry is actively working to finalize the population policy, where digital systems are expected to play a key role,” he added.

The regional ministerial meeting served as a platform for exchanging experiences and forging collaboration across Asia-Pacific countries in the areas of health policy, digital innovation, and demographic governance.