Global Health Innovation: Reaching New Heights in Nepal

Authors

  • Sarala Adhikari, BN, MHCN. Rose Charities Nepal, Kopu Village, Dakchinkali – 7 Kathmandu 4460 Nepal https://orcid.org/0009-0003-4317-510X
  • Sakar Subedi, BS. Vision Together Nepal, Kopu Village, Dakchinkali – 7 Kathmandu 4460 Nepal https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5444-8659
  • William N Grut, MSc., PhD. Rose Charities Canada, 1870 Ogden Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6J 1A1 https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1381-8573
  • Prof. Andrew John Macnab Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, Wallenberg Research Centre 7680 Stellenbosch South Africa, and University of British Columbia, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V6H 3V4. image/svg+xml https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8583-2986

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35898/ghmj-911308

Keywords:

Cataract, Child marriage, Farming, Global warming, Open Schools

Abstract

The role of charities and other non-governmental organizations is to address social, humanitarian, and environmental issues by providing services, advocating for change and mobilizing communities. The purpose of Rose Charities Canada is to help people around the world to overcome poverty through education, community support and healthcare. Listening to communities and collaborating with them to find solutions to the problems they identify is the core process, and this requires strong leadership, the dedication of local staff and industrious volunteers. Innovative projects and partnerships in healthcare, education and community support are central to the mission of effective charities. The value of international meetings in this context is that ‘what works and why’ can be shared and the lessons learned translated to benefit other communities. A recent international meeting in Kathmandu highlighted how Nepal is taking global health innovation to new heights.

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Author Biographies

  • Sarala Adhikari, BN, MHCN., Rose Charities Nepal, Kopu Village, Dakchinkali – 7 Kathmandu 4460 Nepal

    Sarala Adhikari is the project lead for Rose Charities Nepal. She has more than 33 years’ experience in community programs and currently leads three projects is the fields of Education, Agriculture and Eyecare. The education project empowers girls and women by enabling them to complete their studies through free education; the eco-friendly agriculture project supports training for youth who come from marginalized or disadvantaged communities; and the eyecare project organizes eye screening and surgical camps in rural parts of Nepal in collaboration with VTN.

  • Sakar Subedi, BS., Vision Together Nepal, Kopu Village, Dakchinkali – 7 Kathmandu 4460 Nepal

    Sakar Subedi is the founder optometrist for Vision Together Nepal (VTN) and the lead for the ‘Trek and Treat’ program that brings eye care to remote villages in Nepal. In this program Sakar leads treks to challenging places above 5000 meters to conduct eye health screening and provide surgical eye camps that establish temporary operating facilities which enable a range of eye surgeries to be performed, including treatment of cataracts. He also trains other optometrists in myopia management, and how to fit specialty contact and optical lenses.

  • William N Grut, MSc., PhD., Rose Charities Canada, 1870 Ogden Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6J 1A1

    Dr. William Neville Grut is a Canadian/British physician who has worked in ground level global assistance for 40 years mainly in conflict or natural disaster shattered societies in Asia and Africa.  He co-founded  IRIS (International Resources for the Improvement of Sight) and Rose Charities in Cambodia,  and several  grassroots health programs for AMDA (the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia) in Africa and Asia. Will is Executive Secretary of Rose Charities Canada and the Rose International Council.

  • Prof. Andrew John Macnab, Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, Wallenberg Research Centre 7680 Stellenbosch South Africa, and University of British Columbia, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, 4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V6H 3V4.

    Andrew Macnab is a children’s doctor and the project lead for Rose Charities Brighter Smiles Africa program which promotes child health through education and care programs in African schools. He has more than 50 years’ experience developing, delivering and evaluating global health projects, including the translation of evidence-based care and novel technologies to improve quality of life in rural Africa.

     

     

References

Luitel, P., Pandey, M., Karn, R. R., Dev, M. K., Rajbanshi, L., & Sitoula, R. P. (2024). Visual and Surgical Outcomes of Outreach Cataract Surgeries in Ilam District of Nepal: An Observational Study. Journal of the Nepal Medical Association, 62(279), 739-743. https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.8798

Macnab, A. J. (2025). Climate Change: The Urgent Need for Global Health Strategies to Counter Adverse Impacts on Human Health. GHMJ (Global Health Management Journal), 8(1), 39–42. https://doi.org/10.35898/ghmj-811205

Mahat, N. (2024) Nepalese religion: an overview of faith and culture. https://www.nepaldatabase.com/nepalese-religion-an-overview-of-faith-and-culture. Accessed November 3, 2025

Romanello, M., Di Napoli, C., Green, C., Kennard, H., Lampard, P., Scamman, D., Walawender, M., Ali, Z., Ameli, N., Ayeb-Karlsson, S. & Beggs, P.J. (2023). The 2023 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: the imperative for a health-centred response in a world facing irreversible harms. The Lancet, 402(10419), 2346-2394. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01859-7.

Seta, R. (2023) Child marriage and its impact on health: a study of perceptions and attitudes in Nepal. Journal of Global Health Reports, 7, p.e2023073. https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.88951

World Health Organization. (2025). Social determinants of health. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/social-determinants-of-health. Accessed November 3, 2025

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Published

2026-02-01

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2026)

Section

Photo Essay

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Copyright (c) 2026 Sarala Adhikari, BN, MHCN., Sakar Subedi, BS., William N Grut, MSc., PhD., Prof. Andrew John Macnab

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How to Cite

Adhikari, S., Subedi, S., Grut, W. N., & Macnab, A. J. (2026). Global Health Innovation: Reaching New Heights in Nepal. GHMJ (Global Health Management Journal), 9(1), 08–14. https://doi.org/10.35898/ghmj-911308
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