General Secretary

Prof. Dr. Abhinav Vaidya, MD PhD

Prof. Dr. Abhinav Vaidya, MD PhD is currently the Member Secretary of Nepal Public Health Foundation. He is Professor of Community Medicine at Kathmandu Medical College, Nepal. He holds Bachelor’s degree in medicine from Bangladesh (2000), MD in Community Medicine from BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences Nepal (2006), and PhD in Medical Sciences from Gothenburg University, Sweden (2014).

He has extensive experience in training and mentoring undergraduates and postgraduates. He is a leading academician, researcher, and policy-influencer on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Nepal.  He contributed to Nepal’s Multisectoral Action Plan for prevention and control of NCDs, WHO STEPs surveys in Nepal, and NCD PEN Package implementation. He is involved in health promotional research projects that empowered young mothers for improving diet and physical activities; educated schoolchildren for primordial prevention of cardiovascular diseases; improved compliance of hypertensive patients through a mHealth intervention; and reduced chemical pesticide use by farmers.

He has provided consultation to the Government of Nepal to develop policy documents on Basic Healthcare Package, Antibiotic Resistance Control Directory, Emergency Health Services, and Patient Safety Strategic Action Plan.

He has received research grants from NIHR (UK), NIH (USA) and Swedish Research Council (Sweden). He is a recipient of Lown Scholarship in cardiovascular diseases at Harvard School of Public Health. He is a member of the International Society of Hypertension, and a life member of World NCDs Federation. He is Vice-President of the Nepal NCD Alliance and a Governing Board Member of the Southeast Asia Region NCD Alliance.

He has published more than 70+ peer-reviewed papers. He also enjoys writing on cardiovascular health for the public.

Selected Publications:

Sharma S, Matheson A, Lambrick D, Faulkner J, Lounsbury DW, Vaidya A, Page R. Dietary practices, physical activity and social determinants of non-communicable diseases in Nepal: A systemic analysis. PLoS One. 2023 Feb 6;18(2):e0281355.

Koirala B, Adhikari SR, Shrestha A, Vaidya A, Aryal KK, Kalaunee SP, et al. A National Equity Initiative to Address Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries: Findings and Recommendation from the Nepal NCDI Poverty Commission. Kathmandu Univ Med J (KUMJ). 2022 Jul-Sep;20(79):376-383. PMID: 37042383.

Oli N, Pradhan PM, Sagtani RA, Shrestha A, Jaacks LM, Karmacharya BM, Danaei G, Vaidya A. Research Capacity for Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases and their Risk Factors in Nepal: Findings of a Needs Assessment Study. Kathmandu Univ Med J (KUMJ). 2022 Apr-Jun;20(78):147-154. PMID: 37017157.

Bhandari B, Narasimhan P, Jayasuriya R, Vaidya A, Schutte AE. Effectiveness and Acceptability of a Mobile Phone Text Messaging Intervention to Improve Blood Pressure Control (TEXT4BP) among Patients with Hypertension in Nepal: A Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial. Glob Heart. 2022 Feb 23;17(1):13. doi: 10.5334/gh.1103. PMID: 35342691; PMCID: PMC8877709.

Kafle S, Vaidya A, Pradhan B, Jørs E, Onta S. Factors Associated with Practice of Chemical Pesticide Use and Acute Poisoning Experienced by Farmers in Chitwan District, Nepal. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health2021,18, 4194.

Thapa R, Subedi RK, Regmi G, Thapaliya R, Vaidya A, Karki BB. Self-Reported Changes in Risk Behaviours of Cardiovascular Diseases among School Adolescents in Nepal: Application of an Integrated Experiential Learning Approach. Global Heart. 2020; 15(1): 40.

Vaidya A, Oli N, Eiben G, Krettek A. The Heart-health Associated Research, Dissemination and Intervention in the Community (HARDIC) Trial for Nepalese Mothers regarding Diet and Physical Activity: A Process Evaluation. Kathmandu Univ Med J 2017;58(2):107-16.

Vaidya A, Gyenwali D, Tiwari S, Pande BR, Jørs E. Changes in Perceptions and Practices of Farmers and Pesticide Retailers on Safer Pesticide Use and Alternatives: Impacts of a Community Intervention in Chitwan, Nepal. Environmental Health Insights 2017:11 1178630217719270.

Vaidya A, Aryal UR, Krettek A. Cardiovascular health knowledge, attitude, and practice/behaviour in an urbanizing community of Nepal: a population-based cross-sectional study from Jhaukhel-Duwakot Health Demographic Surveillance Site. BMJ Open 2013; 3: e002976.