Advocacy and Lobbying
Advocacy has always remained a crucial task of the NHF to convince the Government to include the issues of heart and NCDs in their portfolio of priority actions.
The great initiatives of NHF had resulted into the establishment of the Sahid Gangalal National Heart Centre 1995 AD (the first dedicated heart hospital in the Government sector), free heart valve surgeries and interventions to RHD patients, inclusion of trans-fat limitation in food products in the NCD policy and plan and many others.
Continued efforts of NHF in recent years have contributed to the Government’s favorable actions to provide free surgical treatment to children below 15 as well as people older than 75 years of age. The free service is provided also to the poor patients and discounted diagnostic facilities are extended to the needy ones.
Dr. PR Regmi addressing the Meeting with Edwards
Lifesciences Foundation Team
Edwards Lifesciences Foundation Team visit to NHF
NHF members with Australian Ambassador in 2018
Since 2016-2017, NHF has been working in partnership with the Edwards Lifesciences Foundation under the program “Every Heart Beat Matters”. NHF has been implementing this project with focus on detection, treatment and awareness on structural heart disease.
RHD Research Fund (RHDRF)
Over the last three decades NHF has been focusing on the prevention and control of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD), which represents a public health burden with
significant morbidity and mortality in children. NHF has pursued a diagonal approach to focus on RHD within the framework of the existing health care system. In 2019 September,
NHF launched a new initiative to establish a trust fund for RHD activities. This is a special non-expendable fund for undertaking research and other activities on rheumatic heart disease. The trust fund is named as End Rheumatic Heart Disease Fund (ERHDF), which was initially promoted by Senior Cardiologist Dr. Prakash Raj Regmi. He contributed NRs one million towards this fund as seed money. Until April 2024, NRs Eleven Million have been deposited in this fund. More than 100 people have already contributed to this noble cause. The key objectives of RHDRF are:
- Undertake research activities on rheumatic heart diseases in Nepal
- Support the underserved children with RHD for treatment
- Explore the possibility of joint collaboration with other organizations to work on RHD prevention and control
- Promote awareness rising activities on RHD.
