Kathmandu: Nepal’s Health and Population Minister, Pradeep Poudel, has urged the World Health Organization (WHO) to mobilize resources to tackle common health crises. Speaking at the South Asia Regional Meeting in New Delhi, India, Minister Poudel highlighted the region’s demographic vulnerability to health risks and emphasized that the lack of resources remains a significant challenge in addressing growing health concerns.

Addressing the gathering on behalf of Nepal, Minister Poudel stated, “South Asia is demographically at risk. The shortage of resources has made it difficult to fight common health problems.” He stressed that Nepal’s health challenges are closely tied to the broader issues faced by the South Asian region, and he reaffirmed Nepal’s commitment to increasing its own resources to combat health crises. “We are also making efforts to boost our own resources to tackle the health challenges of our nation,” he added.

The meeting, which brought together health ministers and senior WHO officials from Southeast Asian member countries, saw Minister Poudel call for increased internal resource mobilization across all member states.

During the event, Minister Poudel also held talks with WHO Southeast Asia Regional Director Saima Wazed, where he emphasized Nepal’s efforts to strengthen its health insurance system and safeguard the fundamental health rights of its citizens. He expressed hopes for policy support and collaboration from the organization in this endeavor. Minister Poudel highlighted shared health priorities between WHO and Nepal, reaffirming Nepal’s commitment to continuous cooperation with the organization in addressing basic health challenges.

Minister Poudel’s address at the WHO-organized meeting of Southeast Asian health ministers focused on resource mobilization and policy cooperation to improve regional health outcomes.