SHOBHANA GURUNG PRADHAN

Executive Member, BNMT Nepal & Country Director, BBC Media Action

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Shobhana Gurung Pradhan is the Chair of the organizing committee for the Lead like a Woman conference. Shobhana 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.

SAKI THAPA

Advocacy, Networking and Resource Mobilization Manager, BNMT Nepal

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Saki Thapa serves as the Advocacy, Networking, and Resource Mobilization Manager at BNMT Nepal. With a strong focus on project designing and grants application, she has demonstrated remarkable success in securing funds for numerous impactful initiatives. Notable among these are Health Link funded by UK aids, Enhancing Community Health funded by the Big Lottery Fund, Health Facilities Reconstruction and Health Service Strengthening I & II funded by AmeriCares, TB REACH Wave 5, Adolescents SRHR project funded by AmplifyChange, Project Horizon funded by BNMT UK, as well as the Global Fund projects 2017-2018 and 2018 to 2021. She has also contributed writing the projects – SUSTAIN: Emergency support and Sustenance to communities affected by crisis funded by AmeriCares, and COVID Kurakani, a supplement of COVID gene sequencing project, Epidemic Intelligence.

With an MSc in Public Health from the esteemed Berlin School of Public Health, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany, Saki has taken the lead in successfully implementing three Sexual and Reproductive health and Rights projects (AmplifyChange, Butterfly, Project Horizon) in rural Sindhupalchowk, Nepal. She has also spearheaded the Research, Evidence and Development Initiative (READ-It) project, focusing on evidence synthesis tailored to national gaps; and the Breaking the Stigma project, which explores the feasibility and acceptability of self-sampling for HPV as an alternative method for cervical cancer screening. Additionally, Saki holds a master’s degree in Health Care Management from Pokhara University, Nepal.

As a valuable member of the senior management team, Saki has played a key role in the development of organizational policies, policy briefs, project briefs, reports, storybooks, and IEC/BCC materials. She has also contributed significantly to the strategic planning of BNMT, shaping the organization’s vision and direction in the strategic plan for 2020-2025.

DR ABHILASHA KARKEY

Director, OUCRU Nepal

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Assistant Professor Abhilash Karkey is a medical microbiologist specializing in enteric infections and antimicrobial resistance at the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Kathmandu, Nepal, which is associated with the Patan Academy of Health Sciences within Patan Hospital. Her research encompasses multiple aspects of infectious disease diagnosis, treatment and management including enteric fever, central nervous system infections, hepatitis E, tuberculosis, and antibiotic resistance. Her research focus is aimed at understanding nosocomial infections and antibiotic resistance patterns within the population, as well as molecular epidemiology of enteric fever within the study population in Kathmandu.

BIBHA DHUNGEL

Public Engagement Officer, BNMT Nepal

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Bibha Dhungel is the Public Engagement Officer in Birat Nepal Medical Trust, currently serving as the project lead for the ‘Lead like a Woman’ conference from BNMT. Bibha is responsible for the overall management and reporting of the project.

At BNMT, Bibha is responsible for strengthening the brand image and enhancing the public engagement via development and maintenance of BNMT-owned websites, management of the social media (Twitter and Facebook), and development of promotional audio/visuals/print materials. She also handles the Twitter account of IMPACT TB and supports in its branding. She has been extensively involved in preparing the organization’s Annual Report for the last five years. She is an active member of the fundraising team. She has contributed to writing successful grants such as TB REACH Wave 5, AmplifyChange, Global Fund and COVID Kurakani, a supplement of COVID gene sequencing project, Epidemic Intelligence. She engages in developing various reports and documentation, as well as in other programmatic activities including monitoring and evaluation functions. She is an MBA graduate from the Ace Institute of Management, Nepal. She enjoys singing, dancing, and art.

ASHATA DAHAL

Public Engagement Officer, OUCRU Nepal

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Ashata Dahal, a public health practitioner, has a Masters Degree in Public Health from The University of Sheffield and The University of Copenhagen. She is currently involved as a Public Engagement Officer at Oxford University Clinical Research Unit-Nepal.

SHOBHANA

Executive

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Shobhana