Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the South Asia region, ranking 147th out of 189 countries in the Human Development Index, and within the same index, health indicators remain low (United Nations Development Programme 2019). In this context, the risk of contracting non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, and cancer, is a life and health issue for all citizens, including the poor, who make up 15 percent of the population (World Bank, 2020). Therefore, the government’s priority strategy is to respond to the rapid change in disease structure from communicable diseases to NCDs, and there is a strong need to strengthen the system for diagnosis and treatment of NCDs, especially in public tertiary hospitals, which are relatively inexpensive for the poor due to insurance coverage. However, public tertiary hospitals are not able to provide adequate care for patients with NCDs due to a lack of and aging medical equipment necessary for specialized diagnosis and treatment of NCDs. This cooperation will contribute to improving the quality of healthcare services by providing medical equipment to eight public tertiary hospitals in the country, mainly to strengthen their systems for diagnosis and treatment of NCDs patients.
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