Kathmandu, Nepal –The National Workshop “Developing Roadmap for Strengthening Health Data Governance Legislation in Nepal” was co-organised by the Integrated Health Information Management Section (IHIMS), Department of Health Services (DoHS), Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), Nepal, the Asia eHealth Information Network (AeHIN), and Transform Health on 14 January 2026.

The workshop aims to help Nepal develop practical roadmaps to strengthen its national health data governance (HDG) legislative and regulatory frameworks. It is part of the Asia Regional Engagement, which is an initiative by Transform Health, led by AeHIN in the region.

The workshop brought together key stakeholders from the Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Education, District Public Health Office, E-Governance Board, Kathmandu University, Tribhuvan University, Nepal Medical Council, Nepal Nursing Council, Nepal Health Research Council, National NGOs Network Group Against AIDS Nepal (NANGAN), MEDIC, World Health Organization (WHO), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Nepal Medical Council, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS), and Digital Health Forum Nepal (DHFN), and FHI 360.

Mr. Ritu Pantha, Chief of IHIMS, officially welcomed the participants and set the stage by outlining workshop objectives: (i) share draft findings from the national legislative and regulatory landscape review, (ii) seek multi-sectoral inputs to validate key gaps, and (iii) outline actionable recommendations to strengthen national frameworks for HDG.

This was followed by the opening remarks from AeHIN Executive Director Mr. Jai Ganesh Udayasankaran, who reminded the workshop participants that “having the right data at the right time with the right people” is the backbone of effective healthcare. He emphasized that national policies and regulations on HDG are essential to safeguard privacy, ensure ethical use, and enable secure data sharing. Mr. Udayasankaran contextualized the workshop, emphasizing the critical need for countries to establish HDG legislation and regulatory frameworks. He explained the objectives and plans for the ongoing HDG Asia Regional Engagement with Transform Health, involving Nepal, Mongolia, and Vietnam. He also provided a brief walk-through of the Model Law (Blueprint) on HDG and the process for supporting national efforts to strengthen HDG legislation and regulatory frameworks.

During the workshop, AeHIN consultant Mr. Jhabindra Bhandari and legal consultant Mr. Rup Narayan Shrestha presented the process, approach, and findings from the legislative and regulatory assessment related to HDG. They facilitated group activities to identify gaps, determine what needs improvement, and develop actionable recommendations. 

The key issues identified during the workshop include:

  1. The existing Individual Privacy Act (2018) provides a general legal foundation for personal information but lacks specific provisions relevant to the health context.
  2. There is an absence of a clear mechanism for obtaining consent for broad health interventions, alongside a lack of standardized implementation of consent in workflows, and a general deficiency in public understanding of consent and data rights among individuals.
  3. Current regulatory frameworks are struggling to keep pace with and address the issues raised by emerging health technologies.
  4. The rules regarding the required duration for data storage are unclear and need further definition.
  5. The current legal landscape provides inadequate protection for Personalized Health Information.

The actionable recommendations that were discussed were:

  1. To develop specific regulations for health data that acknowledge and incorporate Nepal’s unique community structure, rather than focusing solely on individual rights. 
  2. To establish a framework for community-level consent and launch educational initiatives to inform individuals and communities about the concept of consent and their data rights.
  3. Introduce “Minimum Viable Consent,” a simplified notice provided during the registration process.
  4. Explore and implement regulations for emerging technologies, with a focus on mitigating risks, such as fraud.
  5. Enhance Data Retention Policies and enact a dedicated Personalized Health Information Protection Act to govern data sharing and authentication practices.

The inputs and feedback received during this workshop will then be synthesized into the draft implementation roadmap for HDG in Nepal.

AeHIN is committed to collaborating with the government and partners to further strengthen Nepal’s national digital health program.