Kathmandu, Sept. 24 -- The Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) of Nepal have won the newly instituted WHO South-East Asia Region's Award for Public Health Champion.

According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the WHO South-East Asia Region, the FCHVs have been recognised for their transformative role in improving maternal and child health, increasing immunisation coverage, promoting nutrition, and managing disease outbreaks, even in Nepal's most geographically and socially challenged regions.

Their efforts have significantly contributed to reducing maternal mortality from 901 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 151 in 2021, and under-five mortality from 162 to 28 per 1,000 live births (NDHS 2022, UNICEF). Internationally recogni...