Invest in health data

Why can’t Nepal establish a transparent national channel to conduct health surveys?

Nepal is among the world’s poorest and least developed countries. This Himalayan nation has over the years received substantial financial support and technical assistance for its health, education and governance sectors from developed countries, with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) acting as the major donor. In 2022 alone, USAID and the government of Nepal inked a five-year Development Objective Agreement valued at $659 million, aimed at channelling funds to areas of health, agriculture, education and inclusive policy. Thus the US government’s decision to suspend USAID in January this year has had an adverse impact on Nepal’s health sector. It has affected crucial programmes such as maternal and child health and HIV testing and prevention, as well as national surveys, including micronutrient surveys, studies related to female community health volunteers, health facilities surveys—and the most important—the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2026. The agency covered the full financial costs of the study; now, with funding cuts and authorities’ failure to secure alternative sources of funding, its future appears uncertain.