Green Tara Trust UK and Green Tara Nepal with the technical support of two UK universities, the University of Sheffield and Bournemouth University, organized a half day meeting with Nepalese journalists on 8 January, 2012 in Kathmandu. The meeting aimed to share experiences on health promotion in Nepal in terms of concept and intervention. It also intended networking with the media to raise awareness of the need for health promotion and increase coverage of health news. Prof Dr Edwin Van Teijlingen (Bournemouth University) and Dr Padam Simkhada (Sheffield University) facilitated the meeting. Trustees of Green Tara Nepal Mr Ram Chandra Silwal, Mr Krishna Lamsal and Ms Sara Devkota coordinated the program.

About 10 journalists from various institutions along with Radio Nepal News (The national radio) attended the meeting and forwarded remarks.  Mr Nimesh Regmi, Chair person; Health Journalist Association of Nepal (HEJAN) said “health related issues coverage in media are less as media houses are so commercialized “. The participants further committed to continue discussions in their forum.

Green Tara Trust UK and Green Tara Nepal together with technical support from two UK universities, Sheffield and Bournemouth, organized a workshop meeting to discuss health promotion in Nepal on 11 January 17, 2012 at Hotel Orchid Kathmandu. The presenters showed some of the key findings of the health promotion intervention conducted by Green Tara Trust UK and Green Tara Nepal in the VDCs of Daxinkali and Chhaimale. The considerable change in the two VDCs in the 5 years intervention programme has encouraged Green Tara Nepal to call for a network of stakeholders to strengthen health promotion in Nepal. The participants from government agencies, local NGOs, health professionals, INGOs, international aid organisations discussed the possibility of establishing a health promotion network in Nepal and bringing together relevant people. All stakeholders felt that there is need for developing such a national health promotion network. There was a consensus that theory was important foundation for health promotion work in Nepal. It was also widely recognised that health promotion should focus on the needs of the community involved and the wider society.  At the same time it needs a multi-sectoral approach involving many professional groups. Dr. Padam Simkhada (the University of Sheffield) and Prof. Dr. Edwin van Teijlingen (Bournemouth University) facilitated the meeting. Both academics are also Visiting Professors at a Nepalese university. They have more than two dozens of research articles published in international journals on health-related issues in Nepal. Prof. Simkhada added: “We must raise the profile of health promotion in Nepal and share our expertise with people across the country.”