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After Nepal’s first case of HIV was diagnosed in 1988, the epidemic increased rapidly in the 1990s through injecting drug use. This was successfully brought under control. Although injecting drug use is still an important route of transmission of HIV in Nepal, the current major mode of HIV transmission is sexual, accounting for 85% of new infections. At the time of development of the National HIV Strategic Plan, at the end of 2015, there were an estimated 39 397 people living with HIV in Nepal, with an adult HIV prevalence of 0.2%. New HIV infections peaked in 2000 and then declined rapidly and significantly from over 7 500 in 2000 to 1 331 in 2015.

 As per the Nepal's interim constitution 2006, health is considered as a right of the people. The Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) in its Nepal National Health Sector Programme Implementation Plan (NHSP-II, 2010-2015) has a goal to improve the health and nutritional status of the Nepali population, especially for the poor and socially excluded. In the area of child health, it has a target to reduce under five mortalities to a level of 38 and infant deaths to 32 per 1,000 live births by 2015 with several interventions including: sustaining community based integrated management of childhood illness (CB-IMCI), maintaining immunization coverage above 90% and scaling up community based newborn care.

His Majesty’s Government of Nepal (HMGN) is committed to bringing about tangible changes in the health-sector development process. The aim is to provide an equitable, high quality health care system for the Nepalese people. Towards this aim, and in line with the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, Millennium Development Goal and the Tenth Five-Year Plan 2002-7, HMGN has formulated the Health Sector Strategy: An Agenda for Reform 2003.