NIRI

09/10/2026

"बाहिरको संसार जित्न दौडिनुअघि, कहिलेकाहीँ आफैंभित्र फर्किनुपर्छ।"

Dr. Rajendra Pangeni shares what a week of meditation at Osho Tapovan taught him, and why mental health deserves the same care as physical health.

आजको संसारमा मानिसका चुनौतीहरू पहिलेभन्दा जटिल हुँदै गएका छन्। व्यक्तिगत सम्बन्धदेखि सामाजिक जीवनसम्म, आर्थिक ...

06/10/2026

Leadership update at NIRI.

Dr. Puspa Raj Pant steps in as Chairperson, and Dr. Rajendra Pangeni as Executive Director.

Both have been part of NIRI since 2021, and have helped shape much of what we do today. We're excited to see where they take us next.

Please join us in congratulating them!

01/10/2026

1 October is the International Day of Older Persons. This year, drafting of a UN convention on the rights of older persons begins, after the negotiating session on 26 to 30 October.

In Lo Manthang, Upper Mustang, our Senior Citizen Care project works with older adults and shares its findings back with community health volunteers. A treaty shaped with older people would mean rights that reach remote communities too.

Older people are at the heart of these negotiations and must help shape the text.
Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People

https://rightsofolderpeople.org/october-1-international-day-of-older-persons-equal-voices-equal-rights/

29/09/2026

विदेशबाट नेपाल फर्किएपछि बदलिएको दृष्टि Rajendra Pangeni

https://www.onlinekhabar.com/2026/09/2024510/a-changed-perspective-after-returning-to-nepal-from-abroad

28/09/2026

What if a community's own businesses could be its safety net?

Our member Jagannath Kafle , with co-author Krishna Raj Bhandari, has a new paper introducing Community Safety Net Economics: community-owned enterprises that fund welfare from within, instead of relying on shrinking state budgets or donor money.

They look at Nepal's Guthi system and the community homestay model of Ghale Gau to show how it could work in practice.

Read the paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7478665

26/09/2026

25/09/2026

When disaster strikes, DNA becomes the last hope for families searching for answers.

Join us this Saturday for a special NIRI Public Outreach Webinar on DNA-Based Human Identification, where our expert panelists will walk you through what actually happens inside a forensic DNA lab, how DNA is recovered from human remains, and how families are reunited through science.

This one is free, open to all.

🎙️ Dr. Rajendra Pangeni - Expert Panelist
🎙️ Namrata Dhungana - Expert Panelist
🎤 Dr. Tara Sigdel - Moderator

📅 Saturday, September 26, 2026
🕖 7:45 PM Nepal Time | Online
💻 Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9823711633?pwd=lJeLBqkgysIfnbMvanfXOakhQqb3Xi.1&omn=82250552637

15/09/2026

A "biological time bomb" is hiding in our glaciers.

DrSantosh Dulal and Devraj Pokhrel's new Op-Ed in The Kathmandu Post looks past the floods we can see to what's melting out of the ice that we can't.

Ancient microbes trapped for thousands of years. Antibiotic-resistant genes surfacing in permafrost and Himalayan glaciers. A 2016 anthrax outbreak in Siberia that started the same way.

With HKH glaciers feeding water to 1.9 billion people and Nepal's own Yala Glacier down 66% since 1974 the authors make the case for something we don't talk about enough: biological surveillance of glaciers, not just tracking ice loss.

Read the full piece 🔗 https://kathmandupost.com/columns/2026/09/11/how-the-melting-glaciers-are-unlocking-ancient-superbugs-we-ve-never-seen-before

08/09/2026

NIRI's research is officially published.

Our team spent months in Lo Manthang, Upper Mustang surveying all 188 senior citizens in the region to understand their health, daily struggles, and what truly makes them happy.

The result: "Aging in the Himalayas," now published in Sage Open Aging.

Key finding: 1 in 5 elderly residents surveyed need professional care support yet healthcare access in the region remains extremely limited.

This is what NIRI does, turning fieldwork into evidence that can shape real policy.

🔗 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/30495334261485627

Tulasi Acharya Suraj Parajuli Puspa Mani Kharal Puspa Raj Pant, PhD Hem R Dhakal

31/08/2026

When is the best time to return to Nepal?

For many Nepalis living abroad, returning home is more than an economic decisionit’s about family, purpose, priorities, and building the life we want.

This article explores the question: Is there really a “right time” to return to Nepal?

📖 Read the full article: https://www.onlinekhabar.com/2026/08/2002487/when-is-the-best-time-to-return-to-nepal?fbclid=IwY2xjawUB_uhwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMTU5NHZYbkJhTWE1OTRaQlpzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeAAi8boMAI10DM1pffwCieXgrUlSSOae_MVW4xZkHlJAwAwuKdMh4FWQMYD0_aem_bcLCFV2gHdJYW2-jDzH9tw

नेपाल फर्किएको करिब तीन महिना भइसकेपछि मैले यसअघि आफू नेपाल फर्किनुको कारण बारे ‘मैले अमेरिका किन छोडें’ भन्ने आ...