Dr. Meghnath Dhimal
Series: Researchers With A Passion
Skip to episodeBiography:
Dr. Meghnath Dhimal started his career as an Environmental Health Research Officer in 2005 and has been working as a Chief/Senior Research Officer since 2010 at the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), Government of Nepal. He completed his PhD in Geo-sciences (Environmental Health Sciences) from the Goethe University in 2015, and his Master Degree in Environmental Sciences from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, in 2004. For his PhD studies, he received a German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD) scholarship. After the completion of his PhD study, he also worked a Guest Scientist at the Institute of Occupational Medicine, Social Medicine and Environmental Medicine, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany from 2016-2018.
How can we improve Global Health and overcome Global Disparities?
A conversation with Dr Meghnath Dhimal.
How to reduce the opportunity gap between developed and developing nations? More specifically, how to address existing disparities in terms of resource allocation, education and economic means? And how to solve major environmental threats to global health, including non-communicable diseases spread by mosquitoes, contaminated water or air pollutants? Dr. Meghnath Dhimal posits that the answers lie in international networking and interdisciplinary collaboration—between scientists and politicians, the environmental and medical communities, Northern and Southern hemispheres, and so forth.
Dr. Dhimal, a Senior Research Officer with the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) and the global health chair at the Global Young Academy (2017-2022), has made substantial contributions to environmental health policies and climate change programs. In addition to his advisory role at the World Health Organization (WHO), he was awarded the Young Scientist of the Year award in 2015 by the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology.
Episode Notes:
In this far-reaching conversation, Dr. Meghnath Dhimal, a Senior Research Officer with the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), reflects on his upbringing in rural Nepal, where disease patterns have significantly shifted since. He talks about being a passionate advocate for combining health and environmental issues in order to better tackle our global burden of disease.
“The major health risk factors at the moment are environmental factors spread by mosquitoes, contaminated water and air pollutants. So until and unless we bring both sectors together, we cannot solve this issue.” – Dr. Meghnath Dhimal
Dr. Dhimal also paints a very clear picture of the opportunity gaps and existing disparities between developed and developing nations. While the former have the bulk of the world’s resources at their disposal to handle but a fraction of global health problems, it’s the other way around for developing nations.
“There is a disparity in terms of resource allocation, in terms of education, everything. We need to change this. And I think we need political reform. It will be a political decision, not a scientific one.” – Dr. Meghnath Dhimal
The scientist calls on his Nepali colleagues abroad to return home and pass on their scientific expertise to future generations, as well as generate data and research about the “developing world,” for a change. He also implores viewers to embrace more holistic solutions to the regional, national and global health challenges we face.
“Most of the problems can only be solved through networking and collaborations. So we need South-South collaboration, South-North collaboration, North-North collaboration and ultimately, we need to maintain peace in the global community.” – Dr. Meghnath Dhimal