Report of Heart Screening, Health Camp, Physician Training and public awareness program on Koshi Province

The Nepal Heart Foundation (NHF) has successfully conducted a comprehensive, multi-district heart health initiative in coordination with prominent corporate and philanthropic partners. Designed to address the gap in rural cardiac care, this collaborative mission integrated extensive heart screening of school children reaching nearly 20,000 students, community clinical heart health camps, public health awareness events, professional medical training, and free pharmaceutical distribution. A cornerstone of this campaign was the community heart health camp at Udayapur Provincial Hospital, where 533 citizens received outpatient cardiac consultations (including 256 Electrocardiograms (ECGs) and 188 Echocardiograms) alongside a vital distribution of free cardiac medicines worth 5 Lakhs NRs to support public health ailments. To ensure long-term clinical sustainability, the initiative also provided specialized, advanced cardiovascular training to 11 frontline physicians from the local hospital. Public awareness events educated 96 local publics in Udayapur and 59 people in Dharan to strengthen preventative health measures.

Edwards Lifesciences Foundation (ELF)

The Edwards Lifesciences Foundation (ELF) delivered a multi-dimensional intervention under “Heart screening of school children for Structural heart disease 2025-26,” executing distinct core activities including heart screening of school children, clinical heart health camps, public awareness events, and healthcare professional training to build a sustainable model of cardiac defense.

  • Activity 1: Heart Screening of School Children (Udayapur, Bhojpur, and Sankhuwasabha): On the 25th of Jestha, Edwards project conducted school screenings in Udayapur that reached 3,049 children across 18 schools, identifying 5 positive RHD and 6 positive CHD cases through 308 echocardiograms, which required 2 surgical referral. This screening initiative was extended to the Bhojpur district on the 28th of Jestha, where 3,807 students across 27 schools were screened, detecting 9 positive RHD and 15 positive CHD cases via 387 field echocardiograms requiring 7 referral for further evaluation or surgical intervention. On the 29th of Jestha, ELF completed its screening coverage in the Sankhuwasabha district, checking 3,856 children across 7 schools and uncovering 9 positive RHD and 19 positive CHD cases from 392 echocardiograms, which required 12 direct surgical referrals.
  • Activity 2: Community Heart Health Camp & Medicine Distribution (Udayapur): On the 26th of Jestha, ELF organized a massive community-wide Heart Health Camp at the Udayapur Provincial Hospital. This camp provided comprehensive outpatient cardiac consultations and diagnostic services to 533 citizens. Screening of the precursor of the heart disease mainly blood pressure and blood sugar was conducted among 461 individuals was also carried out during the camp. To accurately diagnose underlying conditions, the medical team administered Electrocardiograms (ECGs) and Echocardiograms (Echoes) on-site. To further support patients facing health ailments, free cardiac and essential medicines worth 5 Lakhs NRs were distributed directly to the public during the camp.
  • Activity 3: Training of Health Professionals (Bhojpur): To guarantee long-term medical sustainability in the region, ELF conducted specialized cardiovascular training on the 27th of Jestha. A total of 11 frontline physicians from the hospital received advanced technical training, drastically improving the local capacity for early cardiac diagnosis and case management.
  • Activity 4: Public Awareness Events (Udayapur and Dharan): To build regional health literacy, ELF conducted a public awareness event on the 25th of Jestha in Udayapur, educating 96 local publics on the prevention of rheumatic fever. This was paired with an additional awareness drive held in Dharan on the 28th of Jestha that educated 59 people on cardiovascular wellness.

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) CSR Project

  • The Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Corporate Social Responsibility partnership focused its resources entirely on wide-scale heart screening of school children, successfully executing two major field activities across the Siraha (Madhesh Pradesh) and Udayapur districts (Koshi district). The first screening activity took place on the 24th of Jestha, covering the Karjanha and Mirchiya areas of Siraha, where the team screened 3,177 students across 7 schools. Out of 250 structural echocardiograms performed on-site, 5 positive cases of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) were diagnosed, resulting in 4 urgent medical referrals. The second screening activity was conducted between the 25th of Jestha in the Udayapur district, reaching 2,547 children across 6 schools. This phase uncovered 4 positive cases of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) and 9 positive cases of CHD from 253 echocardiograms, leading to 4 life-saving referrals. In total, SCB’s dual screening initiatives successfully mapped the cardiac health of 5,724 school children and tracked 8 young patients into specialized care pipelines.

Rotary Club of Patan (RCP)

The Rotary Club of Patan (RCP) concentrated its resources on a localized, high-efficiency school intervention, partnering with NHF to conduct a single, focused heart screening of school children activity exclusively in Mirchiya. Held on the 24th of Jestha, this program screened 3,294 school children across 2 major regional educational institutions. The team team performed 80 targeted on-site echocardiograms resulting in identification of 6 positive cases of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) and 6 positive cases of Congenital Heart Disease (CHD). Out of the 12 children diagnosed with structural cardiac anomalies, 6 were referred for further evaluation and/or surgical intervention.

Cumulative Campaign Impact

Cumulatively, this collaborative multi-partner framework successfully accomplished a landmark milestone for public health and regional cardiac care across all target districts. The combined initiatives achieved the following total impacts:

  • Total heart screening of school children reached 19,730 students across 67 regional schools.
  • A total of 1,670 field echocardiograms were completed on school children.
  • Screening clinicians diagnosed 93 total structural cardiac cases, consisting of 33 positive RHD cases and 60 positive CHD cases.
  • A total of 35 immediate lifesaving medical and surgical referrals were created for the diagnosed students.
  • The adult community camp provided vital care to 533 outpatients, diagnostic tests like ECG and echo and precursor screening of blood pressure and blood sugar along with distribution of medicines worth of 5 Lakhs NRs.
  • Healthcare capacities were expanded through the specialized training of 11 local hospital physicians.
  • Community health literacy was elevated through dedicated events that educated 155 people across Udayapur and Dharan.