Empowering Nepal's Development: IAEA's Tailored Support to Least Developed Countries

Nepal has improved its healthcare, food safety, animal health and national radiation safety infrastructure with the help of training and equipment from the IAEA's technical cooperation programme. Increased human and institutional capacities are helping the country to move towards graduation from the UN's 'Least Developed Country' category in November 2026.

Nepal is one of the 45 countries on the United Nations' list of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). LDCs are defined by the UN as having low levels of income and facing severe structural impediments to sustainable development. They host about 40 per cent of the world's poor and are highly vulnerable to natural and environmental shocks. They may also be disproportionately affected by climate change and have low levels of human resources. Human resource development therefore lies at the heart of the IAEA technical cooperation programme's support to Nepal.

In 2023, the IAEA facilitated the update of Nepal's information in the IAEA's Radiation Safety Information Management (RASIMS) system to enhance its national infrastructure for radiation safety. Information in RASIMS is reviewed by the IAEA during the development, approval and implementation of its technical cooperation projects. This ensures that technical assistance is provided where it is most needed, and that the national radiation safety infrastructure is in line with IAEA Safety Standards. With this safety infrastructure now in place, the IAEA has procured radiation medicine equipment for Nepal, including a SPECT/CT system for the Bir Hospital in Kathmandu, which will help enhance diagnostic accuracy.

In the area of human health, the IAEA supports the Government of Nepal in its fight against malnutrition, a government priority since 2009. Malnutrition accounts for over 50 per cent of child mortality in Nepal, according to World Health Organization estimates. The IAEA has introduced nuclear techniques to assess the body composition of children under five, enabling Nepal to conduct studies on body composition to inform policies on the therapeutic feeding of malnourished children.