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Nepal Wheelchair Provision Workshop Report

Global Disability Innovation Hub, University of Limerick, Kathmandu University
June 30, 2025
Academic Research Publications
Explore the Situational Analysis

Ram C Thapa1, Ben Oldfrey1, Ashish Thapa2, Catherine Holloway1, Pratisthit L Shrestha2, Rosemary Joan Gowran1,3

1.Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub UCL), United Kingdom; 2. Kathmandu University Design Lab, Nepal; 3. University of Limerick, Ireland

An image titled "Figure: SCOP Framework for Nepal (Illustration adapted from Gowran (2012) with permission)" presents two interconnected frameworks. On the left, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is depicted as a colorful, five-tiered pyramid, resembling a stupa with prayer flags. The tiers, from bottom to top, are "Physiological Needs," "Safety and Security," "Love and Belonging," "Self-Esteem," and "Self-Actualization." Below the pyramid, a section labeled "VISIBLE MINDFULNESS" features two eyes and a third eye symbol, above four blocks: "PLACE," "PEOPLE," "PACE," and "POLICY," which together form the "SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE (SCOP)" framework. On the right side of the image, two vertical text boxes labeled "MASLOW'S HIREARCHY OF NEEDS" and "SCOP FRAMEWORK" provide descriptions. The Maslow's Hierarchy section describes each tier, starting from Physiological Needs (basic survival, food, water, air, rest, shelter) and progressing to Self-Actualization (realizing full potential through growth, creativity, purpose). The SCOP Framework section defines its components: "Valued Management of the Place" (contextual conditions), "Vital Meaning to the People" (engaging stakeholders), "Visible Maintenance affecting the Pace" (identifying bottlenecks), and "Visible Mindfulness for effective Policy" (shared understanding for actionable sustainability policy).

Despite progressive policies and constitutional commitments to disability rights, Nepal’s wheelchair provision remains largely informal, unsustainable, and inadequately integrated into public healthcare systems. This study explores these critical challenges through comprehensive qualitative research, stakeholder engagement, and participatory provincial workshops.

Led by researchers from the Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub), University College London (UCL), University of Limerick (UL) and Kathmandu University Design Lab, the project commenced with community-building dialogues via the Enabling Fridays Community (EFC) initiative. Subsequently, the team conducted semi structured interviews (N=14) across a diverse group of AT stakeholders capturing insights from wheelchair users, healthcare professionals, NGOs, and policymakers.

Following these interviews, plan for more in-depth multi-stakeholder participation workshop was proposed which focused on situational analysis of wheelchair provision across varying geographical locations over 4 provinces: Koshi (n=28), Bagmati (n=27), Gandaki (n=31) and Lumbini (n=30).

Provincial workshops using Sustainable Community of Practice (SCOP) model (Gowran et al., 2017) and Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) were pivotal in collaboratively identifying context-specific solutions and stakeholder-driven recommendations.

Key findings were thematically analysed and explored under WHO 5Ps framework - People, Product, Provision, Personnel, and Policy.

This report offers comprehensive insights into Nepal's wheelchair provision landscape, highlighting the urgent need for systemic transformation to achieve sustainable, equitable wheelchair services nationwide.

For detailed provincial-level findings, please refer to the individual workshop reports linked below:

  1. Biratnagar, Koshi Province - coming soon
  2. Butwal, Lumbini Province - coming soon
  3. Pokhara, Gandaki Province - coming soon
  4. Kathmandu, Bagmati Province

Ethics approvals were obtained both from the UCL Ethics Committee (16149/001) and Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC) by GDI hub and Kathmandu University.