Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population, with support from WHO Nepal and the Pandemic Fund, has launched the first two modules of the Structured Operational Research and Training Initiative (SORT IT) to strengthen Nepal’s pandemic preparedness through implementation research.
A frontline health worker returns after disposing used syringes, needles and other used waste materials at Bir Hospital, Kathmandu, Province Bagmati Pradesh. Credit: WHO
Coordinated globally by TDR, which is co-sponsored by WHO, UNICEF, UNDP and the World Bank, SORT IT supports countries in strengthening data use and evidence-based decision-making to improve health services. The first two modules, held from 1–9 December, convened 22 government officials and eight WHO personnel across four teams to build practical research skills that will help generate evidence to guide public health policy. This new initiative on pandemic preparedness builds on an earlier SORT IT programme in Nepal on antimicrobial resistance in 2021.
Participants from frontline and managerial roles, including clinicians, public health officers, laboratory professionals, nurses, data managers, senior officials and policymakers received hands-on mentorship in scientific writing, protocol development, data analysis and publication. The four research topics are strategically aligned with the Pandemic Fund’s Strengthening Pandemic Preparedness for Early Detection (SPEED) project in Nepal, focusing on surveillance, early warning, laboratory systems and workforce capacity.
Participants in the SORT IT workshop in Kathmandu in December 2025. Credit: WHO Nepal
“By strengthening implementation research skills among health managers and policy-makers, we are building national capacity to generate our own evidence to guide stronger policies and programmes,” said Mr Hem Raj Pandey, Disease Surveillance and Research Section Chief, Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, Nepal Ministry of Health and Population. “Evidence-based surveillance and laboratory systems are essential to protect Nepal from public health threats, and SORT IT will play an important role in building a resilient health system.”