The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared Dhulikhel Municipality of Kavrepalanchok district as Nepal’s first ‘healthy city’ and second healthiest city in Asia.
Since 2014, Dhulikhel Municipality has implemented various programmes to achieve the status.
Dhulikhel scored 65.48 points on various indicators for healthy cities, joining the WHO Healthy City Network.
WHO’s Health City approach
- WHO’s Health City approach seeks to put health high on the political and social agenda of cities and to build a strong movement for public health at the local level.
- It strongly emphasizes equity, participatory governance and solidarity, intersectoral collaboration and action to address the determinants of health.
- The concept of Healthy Cities was inspired and supported by the WHO European Health for All strategy and the Health21 targets.
- It is fully aligned with the European policy framework Health2020 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- A healthy city is not one that has achieved a particular health status. It is conscious of health and striving to improve it.
- Thus any city can be a healthy city, regardless of its current health status. A healthy city is defined by a process, not an outcome.
