Kathmandu Declaration For UHC Adopted: Nepal Prioritizes Fixing Health Financing Fragmentation

16th December 2025, Kathmandu

The International Conference on Health Economics 2025 concluded on December 12th with a landmark achievement: the adoption of the Kathmandu Declaration for Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Kathmandu Declaration UHC Adopted

This high-level declaration marks a unified commitment to evidence-based reforms and strategic financing to achieve health for all in Nepal.

The two-day conference served as a vital hub for global and local expertise, featuring 18 plenary presentations, 28 research papers, and two pre-conference sessions. High-level political leadership participated actively, underscoring the national importance of the discussions.

The Critical Dialogue: Fixing Fragmentation in Social Health Protection

A key highlight of the event was the UHC Day Special Event, Plenary Session 3, organized by the P4H Network (Partnering for Health). Titled “Towards Sustainable UHC: Fixing Fragmentation and Strengthening Nepal’s Social Health Protection System,” the session zeroed in on the structural obstacles undermining health system efficiency.

The session was opened by Dr. Devendra Gnawali (OPM/GIZ), whose “setting the scene” presentation grounded the dialogue in Nepal’s current operational realities.

The critical “Fixing Fragmentation” panel, moderated by Dr. Sushil Baral (HERD International), featured an esteemed lineup of policymakers and experts:

Mr. Mahesh Acharya (Ministry of Finance)

Dr. Krishna Prasad Paudel (Ministry of Health and Population)

Dr. Bernd Appelt (Independent Expert)

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Dr. Subash Pyakurel (Social Activist)

Blurred Lines, Weakened Risk Pooling: The Fragmentation Problem

Panelists dissected how the current arrangement of parallel financing channels, including various social health protection scheme,s has led to significant systemic challenges:

Duplicated Administrative Structures: Wasting resources and increasing overhead costs.

Blurred Accountability: Making it difficult to track performance and fix problems.

Weakened Risk Pooling: Reducing the financial security and sustainability of health coverage for citizens.

The discussion moved robustly beyond problem identification to explore concrete, actionable reforms necessary for integrating and harmonizing these mechanisms for long-term sustainability. Expert commentary by Ms. Anna Koziel (World Bank) reinforced the necessity of these reforms from a global health financing perspective.

GIZ and P4H Commitment to Evidence-Informed Policy

The success of the conference and the powerful consensus demonstrated by the Kathmandu Declaration reinforce the core mission of partners like GIZ and P4H. Both organizations remain dedicated to bridging technical expertise with high-level political dialogue, ensuring that data-driven evidence directly informs decisions that strengthen Nepal’s health systems and build a stronger, more equitable social health protection system.

The Kathmandu Declaration for UHC is set to serve as a guiding framework, urging policymakers to prioritize integration, strengthen domestic resource mobilization, and ensure equitable financial protection for all citizens.

For more: Kathmandu Declaration UHC Adopted