Govt seeks partnership with UNDP based on needs

Kathmandu, July 15

Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle said on Wednesday that the government seeks development cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) based on the country's evolving priorities and needs.

Addressing a programme in Kathmandu marking the 60^th anniversary of development cooperation between Nepal and the UNDP, he expressed the government's commitment to continuing the partnership.

"The contribution of the UNDP to poverty alleviation, reducing inequality, sustainable development, education, healthcare and many other sectors has been invaluable," FM Dr. Wagle said while hoping that the partnership will continue for the next 100 years.

He noted that long-term development cooperation under the umbrella of the United Nations should not be viewed solely in terms of the amount of financial investment, but rather as a broad framework for international collaboration and coordination.

The finance minister also thanked the UNDP for its contributions to environmental conservation, the strengthening of democracy, youth empowerment and digital development in Nepal. Recalling his own association with the organisation, he said he had spent an important period of his professional life working with the UNDP.

On the occasion, FM Dr. Wagle also launched '60 Years of Partnership', a photo book documenting the UNDP's work and development initiatives in Nepal over the past six decades.

Mental Health Support Programme launched

Meanwhile, the government and the UNDP launched a Joint UN Mental Health Support Programme (2025–2028), a three-year initiative to strengthen Nepal's mental health system and expand access to quality mental health and psychosocial support services across federal, provincial and local levels.

According to the UNDP, the programme is funded by Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and implemented jointly by the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office (RCO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

"It will be implemented in Karnali, Lumbini and Madhes Provinces, working closely with government institutions to strengthen policies, improve services, build workforce capacity, and promote innovation in mental health care," read a statement from the UNDP.

The programme is also said to support key national-level activities, including reviewing and updating mental health strategies and policies, and establishing online training infrastructure and resource centres, and work with private sector partners for the provisions and delivery of mental health services.

The programme responds to an urgent and growing need for mental health services in Nepal. The NMICS 2024–25 (Nepal Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey) reveals that 9.3 per cent young people aged 15-24 years reported symptoms of depression or anxiety, with females twice as likely as males to experience mental distress.

Despite important policy advances, including the National Mental Health Strategy and Action Plan (2020–2025), services remain fragmented, concentrated in urban areas and constrained by a shortage of trained personnel.

The case for investing in mental health is both social and economic. Evidence from Prevention and Management of Mental Health Conditions in Nepal: The Case for Investment, 2025 authored by MoHFS, WHO and UNDP shows that investing in mental health could save nearly 17,000 lives and generate almost one million healthy life years in Nepal over the next two decades. Every rupee invested in mental health returns nearly six rupees in economic and health gains, a multiplier effect that makes the case for action compelling.

The Programme will reach approximately 54,000 individuals and support policy reform, capacity building and service innovation, and will contribute to the Nepal Health Sector Strategic Plan (2022–2030) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework.

It builds on Nepal's 100-Point Governance Reform Agenda, announced in March 2026, which includes explicit commitments to mental health and psychosocial well-being alongside broader health reforms, said the UNDP.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 16 July 2026.