Nepal faces a critical rise in non-communicable diseases, now causing over 70% of deaths. Health funding remains below 5% of the national budget, far from the WHO-recommended 10%. Inadequate, infrastructure-focused spending hampers quality care, prevention, and equitable services, leaving NCDs largely unchecked and mortality rates rising.
Nepal is experiencing a surge in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer, greatly impacting its healthcare system from cities to villages. Outpatient departments nationwide are crowded with patients suffering chronic, lifelong conditions that drain resources and challenge access to quality care. Government response, however, has been marred by declining investment in health even while the disease burden grows. Nepal’s health policy is described as uncertain and insufficiently guided by evidence, with uniform budget allocations nationwide failing to address local needs and reliance on infrastructure spending instead of prevention and quality improvement.
A review of health budget trends reveals a low and stagnant allocation for health, far below World Health Organization recommendations. During COVID-19, Nepal’s health sector budget peaked at 7.35% of total expenditure in 2021/22 (Rs 122.77 billion), but this has since fallen to about 4.77% in 2025/26 (Rs 95.81 billion). This is nearly half the WHO-recommended 10%. Experts and authorities, including the Nepal Health Research Council and Ministry of Health, note that such funding levels make it impossible to ensure quality care and maintain essential services. Most spending focuses on constructing buildings rather than equipping facilities with drugs, technology, and skilled staff, resulting in complaints that citizens do not receive the care they need.
Over the past five years, the number of NCD patients receiving government financial assistance has soared, and direct costs of care for NCDs have risen sharply, reaching Rs 4.42 billion in 2024/25. Despite the rise in deaths caused by heart disease, cancer, respiratory problems, diabetes, and kidney diseases, as well as accidents and mental health issues, prevention and control programs remain underfunded. The death rate due to NCDs increased from 66% in 2017 to 73% in 2021, reflecting a deepening crisis.
Social determinants such as smoking (influencing 18% of deaths), high blood pressure, air pollution, and unhealthy diets are major contributors, with the prevalence of risk factors rising. Rural and poor communities face greater impacts due to lack of screening and preventive services. Although some aid is provided for NCD treatments, most programs are treatment-centric and do little to curb the underlying causes. The Ministry of Health recently proposed broad-based screening and preventive programs at all local units but is constrained by limited funding. Separate budget allocations for mental health and NCDs, as ordered by the Supreme Court, have yet to be enacted in practice.
Nepal’s National Health Financing Strategy (2023–33) and constitutional right to health underscore that health spending is an investment, not an expense, essential for nation-building. The failure to shift from infrastructure-focused budgeting to needs-based, evidence-driven policy threatens the goal of universal health coverage and quality care. Experts stress that prioritizing prevention, early detection, and equitable funding—especially for poor and rural groups—will yield long-term productivity and social stability. Until Nepal raises its health budget to recommended levels and adopts strategic, community-oriented measures, NCDs will continue to rise and strain both individual and national well-being.
