About Us

Recovering Nepal (RN) is a community of amazing and diverse group of individuals, organizations and thematic networks. Formally, as an overarching umbrella organisation, it is the National Federation of people who have had history of drug use and drug service organizations dedicated to resolving problem drug use in Nepal. Recovering Nepal originally began its work as an improvised support group, organically out of sheer necessity, in 2001 by individuals and activists living with HIV/TB and coming and/or from a drug user background in order to address the need for treatment, care and support and activism to advocate for access to medicines for both HIV and Drug Use.

Legally registered in 2006, Recovering Nepal has over 166 affiliated organizational members and key individual drug user activist members under its umbrella advocating on behalf of those who are most impacted by the HIV epidemic for basic health and human rights among the most vulnerable, marginalised and most at risk Key Affected Populations (KAPs) communities.

Recovering Nepal works to reform policies and bring about positive social change in society such as ending stigma & discrimination, reforming laws and policies and building the capacity and providing technical assistance to KAPs communities while advocating for increased access to affordable, quality and comprehensive healthcare and medical support services related to HIV such as harm reduction, drug treatment, ARV/TB therapy, HIV testing, psychosocial counselling and life skills enhancement for KAPs. Currently, Recovering Nepal (RN) also acts as one of the lead national networks playing a facilitating role amongst the KAPS community networks in Nepal, and also as a lead advocacy organization that mobilizes, manages and engages the relevant thematic expertise of each network wherever and whenever relevant.

Recovering Nepal has been a key player in Nepal’s HIV response and is now also a major propagator of the Human Rights response for people who use drugs and other KAPs communities, providing targeted advocacy, legal support, patient group support, crisis care/referral and disaster relief, especially on behalf of key affected populations – people who inject drugs (PWIDs), transgender and men who have sex with men (TG/MSM), female sex workers (FSWs), migrants and their spouses, and people living with HIV (PLHWA), all over Nepal with a particularly special focus on the rights of Women and Children Living with HIV.

Recovering Nepal has also been instrumental in providing its technical expertise to educate and raise awareness both in society and amongst influential policy decision makers and authorities to promote their better understanding of the grass roots issues through social and scientific research, evidence and human rights based advocacy.

Recovering Nepal aims to influence the policies that improve the quality of lives of PUDs and other KAPs communities, reinstate their rights and create a supportive environment while reducing barriers in access to services. The organization promotes provision of HIV/AIDS healthcare and Harm Reduction services while focuses on strengthening the capacity of PUDs and other KAPs community organizations to respond to epidemics such as TB, HIV, Viral Hepatitis B&C, STI's and currently COVID-19, especially at the grassroots level.

In order to have an accelerated and sustained effective response and deliver tangible results along with additional value, it is necessary to have strong community systems that inspire increased community competence, community strengthening, community ownership and community engagement. Over the years RN has maintained excellent ratings from the Global Fund and other donors and stakeholders for implementing programs that engage KAPs and contribute meaningfully to reducing new HIV infections in order to eliminate the HIV epidemic by 2030 in Nepal.

Recovering Nepal is also engaged in strategic initiatives and initiatives to support policy advocacy - which are particularly crucial for strengthening civil society, such as support to key population networks to ensure community-led monitoring and community-led evidence based advocacy to drive domestic investment for high quality, human rights-based uninterrupted harm reduction services. Advocacy for Drug Policy Reform and Decriminalization. Research and generating evidence through the community. Dedicated legal support for legal review and clear ambivalences in the Punitive and Health aspects of the contemporary Drug Policy.

Recovering Nepal is involved in local, national and international multi-sectoral engagement and through such inclusiveness, it has also grown in its engagement beyond health, such as law with enforcement, parliamentarians, and various ministries, evidence based drug education in schools and colleges (eradicating the negative hype and propaganda on drug use replaced with clear objective scientific information, data and facts based on evidence to empower youth to make their own informed assessment and self-decided best possible healthy choice suited to their own context etc. Public Service Announcements (PSA) and media/ social mainstream media to reduce stigma and discrimination increase acceptance and perceptually normalize HIV and Drug use interventions in society.

Recovering Nepal's governance structure consists of a seventeen member executive board made of thematic networks and community based organisations led by KAPs communities who are unified through their representation as a core member of the Recovering Nepal executive board through a legitimate representation and election process. The National network is structured ensuring “by" and "for" principle that best depicts the identity of drug users and other crosscutting KAPs communities such as people who use drugs identifying themselves as third gender (LGBTIQ) other than male or female, youth who use drugs and other young people from KAPs communities

Recovering Nepal is legally registered under the Government of Nepal - Reg. No: 632-061/062, Social Welfare Council Reg. No: 18073 and Public Administration Reg. Number: 302016363. It's website is maintained at http://www.recoveringnepal.org.np any queries can be sent to [email protected].

1. Mid/Far Western Region (8) Eight Community Based Organization/Non Govermental Organization and (1) One regional Office located in Nepalgunj.

2. Western Region (20) Twenty Community Base Organization/Non Govermental Organization and regional Office located in Pokhara and Butwal.

3. Central In side valley (34) Thirty Four Community Base Organization/Non Govermental Organization and Central office located in Lalitpur.

4. Outside Valley (16) Sixteen Community Base Organization/Non Govermental Organization and Regional Office located in Chitwan.

5. Eastern Region (8) Eight Community Base Organization/Non Govermental Organization and Regional Office located in Itahari.

6. (3) Three Thematic Networks FDDR/CDUN/UNION C.