Speaker Ghimire calls for broader efforts to address health challenges

            Patan (Lalitpur), Sept 6: Speaker of the House of Representatives, Devraj Ghimire, echoed the need for international cooperation to address global health challenges, stating that such issues transcend national boundaries.

            Speaking at the inauguration of the 2nd Nepal Mt. Everest International Conference on Gynecologic Endoscopy today, the Speaker highlighted that health concerns are universal and require collective efforts to address them. He expressed hope that the conference would help foster a collaborative approach to overcoming these challenges.

            Ghimire underscored the need for integrating knowledge, technology, and cooperation as three key pillars for tackling health issues. He also reaffirmed his commitment to the formulation of effective health policies, referencing the constitutional guarantee of health as a fundamental right in Nepal.

            Touching on progress in women’s health, the Speaker said that Nepal has reduced its maternal mortality rate by 70 percent since 2000, marking a significant achievement.

            Also speaking at the event, lawmaker Chanda Karki stressed the need to expand quality and effective healthcare services to rural areas, urging the government to implement targeted measures to close the existing healthcare gap.

            Bikash Devkota, Secretary at the Ministry of Health and Population, added that the government is working to strengthen healthcare systems from the grassroots level, including the area of gynecology, to improve service delivery nationwide.

Use of AI in parliamentary processes and secretariat under-study, says Speaker Ghimire

            Meanwhile, Speaker Devraj Ghimire has said that the Parliament is studying the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve functional efficiency.

            Speaking at the National Artificial Intelligence Conference organized by the Digital Media Foundation here today, he said that AI could be useful in Parliament and committees as well as in speech-to-text conversion and quickly finding and analyzing data related to bills.

            Sharing that necessary policy and legal arrangements are being made to use and regulate artificial intelligence, he said that the challenges of misinformation, hacking and data security are also been considered.

            The capacity of the parliament or the government alone cannot suffice in formulating laws on such technical and complex issues, he said while calling for the support and active participation of experts and stakeholders. He also recalled that the government had approved the National Artificial Intelligence Policy in August.

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