Kathmandu, August 12
Ncell Private Limited under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital (DH-KUH) have signed an agreement to support Dhulikhel Hospital for Telemedicine and Health Informatics Programme to serve remote and underserved communities through quality health care services, using technology and data-driven health care methods.
Under the programme, Ncell will provide telemedicine equipment, establish connectivity infrastructure at the local community health centres to DH-KUH. Ncell will also provide financial support to DH-KUH for procurement of local supplies & services needed for the execution of the project for the next two years. In return, DH-KUH will provide support in allocating space & utilities, qualified Medical Doctors & Consultants and carrying out periodic training sessions, monitoring the project to run in optimum quality.
Under this collaboration, Ncell, DH-KUH Telemedicine, and Healthcare Informatics Centre will be established at Dhulikhel Hospital, which will supervise activities and innovation in telemedicine and health informatics.
Andy Chong, Chief Executive Officer of Ncell, and Dr. Ramesh Makaju, Director of Dhulikhel Hospital signed an agreement this regard on Monday amidst an event.
Dr. Ramesh Makaju, Director of Dhulikhel Hospital, during the event, shared his excitement and said, “Our vision is to develop first-of-its health informatics centre in Nepal as a centre for learning, innovating and implementing data-driven methods for the betterment of the health with a multi-disciplinary approach. I am ever so grateful to Ncell for their visionary approach towards the health sector in Nepal. ”
Andy Chong, CEO of Ncell, also shared his views and added, “The project fits into Ncell’s CSR framework, fitting it rightly into one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We hope this collaboration will contribute in narrowing the gap in the delivery of quality healthcare service especially to people in need in rural and remote parts of Nepal, enhancing the capacity of community health centres being operated by Dhulikhel Hospital through the use of digital technology.”
Prof. Dr. Ram Kantha Makaju Shrestha, the founder of the Dhulikhel Hospital and Vice-Chancellor of Kathmandu University, shared his thoughts and said, “This will also be a platform for advancing future research and training programs in health informatics in Nepal.” He further mentioned that a partnership between academia and private sector such as Ncell is a fundamental prerequisite for national development.”
The project implementation will mainly focus in two areas—Telemedicine and Personalized Health Programme (PHP). Under the telemedicine component, the project will deliver quality healthcare services from eight health centres operating under Dhulikhel Hospital by using connectivity and modern telemedicine kit. This service will help directly connect the rural health centres with health professionals/experts in Dhulikhel Hospitals for the next two years.
For the project implementation, four community health centres of the hospital: Manekharka (Sindhupalchowk), Dorpu (Solukhumbu), Thangsin (Nuwakot) and Bolde Kavrepalchowk have been selected that have more than 15,000 households. Locals of the project areas will get treatments on communicable, non-communicable chronic diseases.
In PHP, a preventive programme, locals from catchment areas of these community health centres will get personalized health services wherein health workers will conduct regular monitoring of the health of local people for timely intervention at the local level. This component intends to develop a data-driven behavior change for the betterment of the health of local people, aiming to scale up PHP in communities beyond the catchment areas.
Ncell and DH-KUH are aiming to collaborate for the next five years which shall be renewed at the end of year 2 followed by evaluation & review of the project. We are aiming to make the project sustainable beyond 5 years.
As a responsible corporate citizen, it has invested more than Rs 670 million in various social projects under its CSR. This amount was spent during last eight years (2011-2018) for implementation of projects in sectors including in education, health, sports, environment protection, disaster management, and relief support, promotion youth talents, and livelihood support, among others.
As the largest taxpayer, Ncell has an exemplary track record of contributing to the development of Nepal and will continue to build a sustainable business for Ncell for the benefit of the country. Since its inception, Ncell has contributed over NPR. 210 billion in taxes as of the last fiscal year 2018/19.
Furthermore, Ncell has made significant contributions to the socio-economic development of Nepal. Ncell, directly and indirectly, supports over 93,800 jobs in Nepal and connects over 16.5 million customers across our networks. We remain committed as a long-term service provider in the country to further enhance digital connectivity and to improve the lives of all Nepalis.
