Seventh edition of national summit of health and population scientists in Nepal, 01-02 July 2021 with the theme of “Research in Public Health Emergencies: Evidence to Policy and Action” has been successfully completed.
Health research is the foundation of sustainable and evidence-based policy. The Seventh National Summit of Health and Population Scientists addresses emerging need of appraisal and collation of evidence around the public health emergencies following the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for integrating all other disciplines of research to inform health policy and practices.
The pandemic has widely affected every step of life; scientific research to guide evidence-based policy and practice is the only way to overcome this pandemic. Advancing health research in Nepal’s federal context requires greater coordination and cooperation across the three tiers of government and stakeholders that strengthens application of interdisciplinary and implementation research approaches.
In this context, all delegates from the summit collectively commit to the following declaration:
- Increase investment in health research in the federal context to promote high-quality scientific research in Nepal.
- Promote science diplomacy to facilitate evidence-based policy and practice across the government and stakeholders.
- Strengthen collaboration between researchers, policy makers, academia, scientists, civil society, and community to promote high-quality embedded implementation research for effective response to future pandemics.
- Promote human capital in health research by facilitating young researchers and scientists and enabling research culture.
- Strengthen organizational and individual capacity to conduct clinical trials for therapeutic purposes.
- Facilitate timely adoption and use of recent digital technologies towards strengthening the quality of research.
- Advocate for interdisciplinary research to understand multiple domains of health using one-health approach.
- Acknowledge potential shocks, stressors and threats to human health and develop a responsive and resilient health system to tackle them effectively.
- Develop institutional capacity to ensure the vaccine and therapeutic development culture through the partnership with international vaccine and therapeutic agencies in various forms of trails.
- Reform the health research governance through revision of institutional and legislative provisions in line with Nepal’s federal system and best research governance practices.
