Welcome to the UBC Nepal Health Education Partnership

The UBC Nepal Health Education Partnership is a global health initiative (GHI) at the University of British Columbia (UBC) Faculty of Medicine with a focus on health education, health advocacy, and public health. It has two main focuses - sickle cell disease and sexual health education. 
 

Since 2015, medical students from the UBC GHI have worked alongside Creating Possibilities (CP) Nepal, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the education and quality of life of structurally disadvantaged women and children in Nepal. We have worked collaboratively to improve health equity and education among the Tharu people, an Indigenous group in the Terai region of Nepal with a history of bonded labour and persistent health inequities. Our partnership with CP Nepal initially began with a focus on sickle cell disease (SCD), providing consistent support for the SCD Education and Screening Program and, more recently, the Pain Education and Management Program in Dang. Continued efforts focus on community education and advocacy for SCD, conducting mass screenings, health assessments, and resource development.
 

In 2020, CP Nepal identified sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education as an area of need among Tharu adolescents. Together, we developed the Adolescent Health Program, a SRH curriculum based on the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education created by UNESCO. By empowering youth with vital SRH knowledge, our hope is to improve access to and utilization of sexual health services, reduce social stigma, and generate discussion to address inequities in sexual and reproductive health and wellbeing. The program is currently expanding to include boys in the classes and a mental health module is being developed.