Longevity in Nepal, Environmental, Health and Policy Challenges

Longevity is a relatively recent phenomenon in Nepal; over the past few decades the priority in Nepal has been reducing infant and maternal mortality. With an increasingly aging population and changing patterns of migration, this brings with it challenges to Nepali society in terms of meeting the needs of an aging population and creating a policy environment that ensures these needs are met. This paper explores some of the complexities of an aging population in Nepal and focuses on examining the various health and service implications to a nation that has recently been engaged in a decade long „People‟s War‟. Through highlighting the paucity of research in this area, this paper argues for an urgent need for research, both scientific and within the social sciences, into the complexities of meeting the needs of an aging population in the context of Nepal. It clearly demonstrates the need for new spaces of dialogue to emerge where these debates and lessons can be shared