Mr Mahesh Sharma

Mahesh Sharma has more than twenty five years of experience in programme development and management including policy development and policy analysis in the area of health, HIV/AIDS, TB (inducing National Strategy Application – GF), community development. He has written number of successful national proposals to Global Fund for HIV/AIDS and TB; prepared national HIV/AIDS strategy and budgeted work plans. He has worked with the Government, Save the Children (UK), BNMT, UNDP in Nepal and has taken HIV/AIDS related assignments in the region (Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, UNAIDS Regional support team at Bangkok). Has worked extensively in Global Fund related work particularly in CCM strengthening (Nepal, Solomon Islands) and CCM eligibility performance assessment (EPA). He has also carried out number of evaluations, assessments (including National AIDS Spending Assessment – NASA) and health programme reviews.

He is actively involved in various civil society organisations and has represented in national institutions in various capacity i.e. Board member in Govt, HIV/AIDS and STI Control Board (2008 – 2010), CCM technical subcommittee members (2005 – 2008) and member in oversight committee (Jan – July 2012) including technical review panel and peer reviewers, and BNMT/UK Board of Trustees (2006 – 2010).

He has authored/co-authored number of articles in national and international journals, made presentation at international conferences and seminar within country and outside.

Dr Buddha Basnyat

Dr Buddha Basnyat, a graduate of St. Xavier’s Godavari, is a medical doctor practicing medicine in Kathmandu, Nepal. His research interests are infectious disease and high altitude medicine both of which are in ample supply in Nepal. He has published widely in both these fields in prestigious medical journals and written chapters with co- authors in the latest standard medical textbooks( for example, Harrison’s Textbook of Internal Medicine,  Oxford Textbook of Medicine, and Manson’s Tropical Diseases). He has almost 300 publications in peer-reviewed medical journals, in all likelihood more than anyone else from Nepal. He is the former Director for the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit\Nepal and is also the Medical Director for the Travel and Mountain Medicine Center (a travel medicine clinic), The Himalayan Rescue Association (dealing with high altitude medical problems), and the Mountain Medicine Society of Nepal. In all these institutions one of his primary interest is to encourage young people to do clinical research. He also works at Patan Hospital as a consultant in the internal medicine department and is a Professor of Physiology at the Patan Academy of Health Sciences. He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and also a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Edinburgh). He is also the Principal Investigator at Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. He is the Honorary Consul for Canada in Nepal.

Link to Google Scholar page for Buddha Basnyat to check for article citations: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=jyidWzAPe6gC&hl=en

Raghu Dhital

Raghu Dhital is the Executive Director of BNMT Nepal. Raghu has worked in community based public health for twenty years, and has diverse experience across multiple sectors, including infectious disease control programmes, WASH and disaster response and recovery. Raghu oversees the activities of BNMT, directing the long-term strategic plan, developing new responsive projects, establishing and maintaining successful stakeholder relationships. He ensures the successful implementation of all the programs of the organization.

Dr Maxine Caws

Dr Maxine Caws is the Principal Investigator of IMPACT TB and a senior infectious diseases researcher at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, UK with over 20 years of experience in this field. She leads the multidisciplinary infectious diseases research programme which includes the optimization of community based active TB case finding strategies, drug resistance, molecular epidemiology of SARS-COV-2/TB, health economics and a pioneering drone transport network for rural healthcare. She has been based full time with Birat Nepal Medical Trust (BNMT) in Kathmandu since 2017.

Dr Kulesh Bahadur Thapa

Dr Kulesh Bahadur Thapa is a Consultant Paediatrician and Head of the Department of the Paediatric Department at Nepal Police Hospital since 1985. He completed his MD from People’s Friendship University (Russia) in 1990. He gained Diploma in Child Health from Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (Nepal) in 1990.

He started his career as an Inspector of Police and retired holding the rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police. He also had added responsibility of Administrative Division of the Hospital as he rose in ranks.

He is involved in public health and adolescent health and started an adolescent health counselling service at the Police Hospital.

He has been involved in the development of the SOP of the Hospital disaster Preparedness Plan. He looks after the children’ health of the police and their family, and also the disaster management aspect of the hospital, organization and preparation of the staff. He is also a designer and instructor for the Basic Search and Rescue Training for the community. He is a team member and the lead trainer for the MFR training in the UNDP project of CBDRR program of the Chhatrapati Free Clinic. He is a monitor for the Helping Babies Breathe Programme which is introduced in Kathmandu hospitals and in the country since 2013.

Santosh Gyawali

Santosh Gyawali is engaged in the field of Disaster Risk Management in Nepal. He has a master’s degree in Information Technology with more than 20 years of experience in Information Resource Management. Immediately after the Haiti earthquake he changed career and got involved in disaster risk management work. He also served as the General Secretary and Vice President of Health Care Foundation Nepal with the National Kidney Centre as its largest operations.

Shobhana Gurung Pradhan

Shobhana Gurung Pradhan has over 24 years of experience working in organisational management and leadership. Currently the Country Director of BBC Media Action in Nepal, she has also served in a similar capacity with BNMT. She has previously worked with a bi-lateral and multilateral agencies, International non-governmental organisations, local civil society and the private sector.

An MBA graduate from AIT Thailand, she gained her BSC Degree from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines and further training in management and development in Australia, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Heem S. Shakya

Heem S. Shakya is a health system strengthening expert with more than 20 years of professional working experience in Nepal, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Afghanistan. He specialized in procurement and supply chain management of the public health sector. He is also well-versed in public health programs like family planning, maternal and child health, sexual reproductive health and rights, HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria. He has served as an oversight committee member Country Coordination Mechanism (CCM) at the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) for The Global Fund Programs – HIV/TB/Malaria from 2018 to 2021. He was a lead National Consultant, to develop a Procurement and Supply Management of HIV/AIDs commodities as part of the National HIV Strategy Plan 2016 – 2021.

During his 20+ years of professional career, he has developed and implemented community-based health programs and interventions and carried out studies and assessments that have strengthened the health systems of the countries. He has worked and held key positions with JSI, USAID | DELIVER, GHSC-PSM, POSSIBLE, UNFPA, SAVE, USP/PQM+, and WHO. He has published many articles in national and international journals and authored two books – “Transformed”, an autobiography, and “Effective Health Logistics for Better Health Services”.

Laxmi Prasad Dahal

Laxmi Prasad Dahal is Chief Finance Officer, working in BNMT since 2006. He has over 20 years of professional experience in finance, accounts, taxation, record keeping and audit. He is responsible for overseeing the finances and accounting operations, compliance with donor regulations and reporting requirements, financial planning and management of BNMT Nepal. Laxmi leads a team of five finance officers working across our three regional offices and the Kathmandu Head Office.

Soma Rai Sitling

Soma Rai holds a pivotal role at BNMT Nepal, where she is responsible for managing the entire spectrum of administrative and operational functions within the organisation. Her duties include ensuring the efficient day-to-day running of internal systems and processes, while fostering a work environment that supports both staff productivity and project success.

A major aspect of her role involves overseeing all procurement activities, including planning, sourcing, vendor management, and ensuring compliance with organisational policies and donor regulations. Her meticulous approach ensures that resources are acquired in a timely, cost-effective, and transparent manner.

In addition to her administrative and procurement responsibilities, she leads the planning, coordination, and execution of key organisational events such as workshops, trainings, stakeholder meetings, and high-profile conferences linked to BNMT’s projects.Her ability to manage logistics, coordinate with partners, and host diverse audiences plays a critical role in the successful delivery of these events.

As the primary point of contact at BNMT Nepal, she regularly liaises with Board Members in Nepal, the Board of Trustees in the UK, as well as national and international visitors, donors, and collaborators. She also maintains strong ties with the organisation’s Founder Members, ensuring that BNMT's legacy and strategic direction are upheld.

Furthermore, she contributes to organisational leadership as a valued member of the Senior Management Team, participating in strategic planning and decision-making processes that shape BNMT’s future.

Gyanendra Shrestha

Gyanendra Shrestha is the National Program Coordinator of BNMT Nepal. Previously, he served as the Project Manager for the Epidemic Intelligence project and Eastern Regional Manager. An experienced public health professional and project leader, he began his career as a Statistical Officer for the Government of Nepal in 1997. Later, he joined BNMT as a Drug Scheme In-charge and progressed through roles as a District Programme Coordinator and Project Manager. With over 25 years of experience, he has developed a deep understanding of the implementation and key factors driving the successful delivery of community-based public health programs in Nepal.

Passionate about improving healthcare access and livelihoods for remote rural communities, he has successfully led numerous challenging and pioneering projects in close collaboration with community stakeholders. He is responsible for ensuring the successful field implementation of all organizational programs, as well as establishing strong coordination and networking with project partners, government authorities, major hospitals, health offices, and other development partners.

Gyanendra holds a double master’s degree in Public Administration and Population and Rural Development.

Saki Thapa

Saki Thapa is a public health professional with over a decade of experience in resource mobilisation, advocacy, networking, programme development and strategic partnerships in Nepal. As Advocacy, Networking and Resource Mobilization Manager and a member of the Senior Management Team at BNMT Nepal, she contributes to organisational strategy, programme development, policy engagement, partnership building and resource mobilisation.

She has a strong track record of developing and securing competitive grants from international donors and development partners, including the Global Fund, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Save the Children, AmplifyChange, UKAid/NHSSP, Big Lottery Fund (UK), AmeriCares, and BNMT UK. Her experience spans programmes in tuberculosis, women’s and adolescent health, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), mental health, WASH and health systems strengthening.

Alongside her resource mobilisation and programme leadership, Saki has led and contributed to project implementation in rural communities and qualitative and mixed-methods research, with publications in international peer-reviewed journals. Her work brings together community perspectives, research evidence and partnerships to inform programme development, advocacy and evidence-informed policy and practice.

Saki holds an MSc in Public Health from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany, as a DAAD scholar. She is also a Core Technical Working Group Member of Nepal’s National Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) Advocacy Coalition, contributing to national-level advocacy and collaboration on SRHR and comprehensive sexuality education.

Rajesh Parajuli

Rajesh Parajuli is the Human Resource and Administration Manager of BNMT Nepal. With over 25 years of experience in overall human resources and operation management, he is responsible for overseeing employee recruitment and retention, performance appraisal, legal compliance, compensation, benefits, development of policies and long-term staffing strategies and day-to-day administrative, logistics and procurement management. He is the focal person at BNMT for coordinating with the government authorities and other stakeholders.

Dr. Kritika Dixit

Kritika Dixit is the Research Manager at BNMT with experience of over nine years in infectious diseases, mental health, and reproductive and sexual health. She is leading a research programme focused on barriers to healthcare access especially in rural areas. Her team is generating evidence to inform patient-centric healthcare models to improve equity in communities. She led the research implementation to develop a locally appropriate socioeconomic support package for TB affected households in Nepal. She recently completed her PhD from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.

Dr Sabina Shah Pahari

Dr Sabina Shah Pahari has volunteered in the field of Child Health as a Consultant Paediatrician in institutions like Ek Ek Paila and Kathmandu Institute of Child Health. Dr Pahari is a certified trainer of Child Protection (safeguarding children) and Pediatric Life Support. Furthermore, she is one of the executive board members of Birat Nepal Medical Trust Nepal (BNMT Nepal) and Kathmandu Sachey Foundation. She is also an active member of Zonta Club, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Dr Pahari had served as Consultant Paediatrician for the SAARC secretariat, Nepal and an Appraiser for International Trainee Doctors (UK).