Proceeding report: 12th National summit of health and population scientists in Nepal; “Health Research Governance for Evidence Informed Decision Making and Implementation in Nepal"

Abstract

Executive Summary: The Twelfth National Summit of Health and Population Scientists in Nepal, organised by the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) from 10 to 12 April 2026 in Kathmandu, was held under the theme “Health Research Governance for Evidence Informed Decision Making and Implementation in Nepal.” The summit was inaugurated by the Right Honorable Vice President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Mr. Ramsahay Prasad Yadav. Approximately 1,200 participants representing government institutions, academia, development partners, and the private sector took part. A total of 465 oral abstracts and 162 poster abstracts were received; following expert review, 91 oral and 120 poster abstracts were selected for presentation. The summit marked an important shift from focusing only on research generation to strengthening the systems, institutions, and processes that ensure evidence is effectively translated into policy and practice. The background of the summit reflects Nepal’s growing recognition that strong health research systems are essential for improving population health outcomes. While the country has made notable progress in health despite significant challenges, the use of evidence in policymaking remains inconsistent. Gaps between research production and its application continue to limit the effectiveness of policies and programmes. The summit therefore emphasized the need for stronger governance, better coordination, and institutional mechanisms that connect researchers, policymakers, and implementers. The plenary session represented a historic development in the summit’s evolution. For the first time, key government institutions directly engaged in the discussion, shifting the focus toward the users of evidence rather than only its producers. The session highlighted Nepal’s resilience in achieving health gains despite conflict, disasters, and resource limitations. At the same time, it identified persistent systemic challenges, including human resource constraints, weak governance, fragmented research systems, and limited accountability. The panel discussions further deepened these insights by examining critical areas such as research governance, clinical trial operations, academia industry collaboration, health financing, and the evolving disease burden. Across all panels, fragmentation emerged as a major constraint. Multiple institutions, parallel systems, and weak coordination mechanisms create delays, inefficiencies, and increased costs. Institutional capacity gaps, including limited skilled workforce and high staff turnover, further weaken system performance. The parallel sessions provided detailed insights across a wide range of thematic areas, including non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health, artificial intelligence, health inequalities, mental health, infectious diseases, environmental health, clinical sciences, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, ageing, and migration. These sessions highlighted emerging evidence, innovative practices, and implementation challenges. Across all sessions, the summit consistently called for integrated systems, digital transformation, workforce development, and stronger collaboration across sectors. It emphasised the importance of translating research into actionable policy, strengthening regulatory and ethical frameworks, and ensuring efficient use of resources. The discussions reinforced that achieving sustainable health improvements in Nepal will require coordinated reforms, institutional strengthening, and a long term commitment to evidence driven decision making.

In recognition of excellence in research and innovation, eleven awards were presented across different categories, celebrating outstanding contributions to Nepal’s health research and policy ecosystem. The summit concluded with a short declaration reaffirming the collective commitment to institutionalise transparent and accountable health research governance; prioritise primary prevention and early risk reduction of non‑communicable diseases through whole of government and whole of society approaches; develop a secure national health data repository and ethically apply artificial intelligence, big data, and digital health technologies; promote social justice, One Health, and climate resilient approaches in health research and implementation; and ensure sustainable financing and stronger academia industry partnerships for evidence informed policies and programmes.

This summary report consolidates the key proceedings, discussions, and recommendations and captures the major thematic sessions, keynote messages, panel deliberations, and actionable outcomes of the summit, with the aim of informing policymakers, researchers, development partners, and other stakeholders working to strengthen health research governance and evidence informed decision making in Nepal.