Sunita - Palliative Care in Rural Nepal

The Sunita Project is a three-year initiative funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) that has transformed access to palliative care in West Nepal. Working in line with Nepal’s National Palliative Care Strategy (2017), the project has laid a firm foundation for a more compassionate, inclusive, and equitable society for people facing serious, complex, or life-limiting illness.

Through training for health workers and community members, delivery of clinical care, improved access to essential pain-relief medicines, and policy advocacy, the Sunita Project is ensuring that palliative care is available where it’s needed most—close to home. The project also supports young carers so they can continue their education and helps families reduce the economic impact of caring for loved ones.

By the end of the project, over 10,000 people and their families across West Nepal will receive care and support through a network of integrated services. These include a specialist centre in Pokhara and rural demonstration sites in Lamjung (Namuna and Sahodar Hospitals), Rukum, Surkhet, and two remote mountain communities.

Regular engagement with Nepal’s national government is helping to shape future policy, using learning from these models to guide a nationwide approach to palliative care that leaves no one behind.