Dr. Govinda KC begins 25th hunger strike in Ilam
Medical reform activist Dr. Govinda KC has launched his 25th hunger strike in Ilam, citing the government's failure to implement past agreements on health sector reforms.
Medical reform activist Dr. Govinda KC has begun his 25th hunger strike, renewing his long campaign for changes in Nepal's medical education and health sector. According to Setopati and Swasthya Khabar, he started the satyagraha at the Narayan Temple in Ilam at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
The move to Ilam came after a planned strike in Udayapur was called off. Nagarik News and My Republica had reported on Wednesday that KC was preparing to begin a strike in Gaighat, the Udayapur district headquarters, on Thursday. Nagarik News later reported that he had postponed it after no public venue could be arranged, according to his local representative, Gaurishankar Udas, who said KC declined to stage the strike in a private house that had been rented for it.
The demands
KC says the government has not met the demands of his previous strike. According to Setopati and a press statement published by Swasthya Khabar, he wants the Medical Education Commission's decision to allow MBBS and nursing programmes at the Shaheed Dashrath Chand Health Science University in Geta, without the required infrastructure and academic staff, to be scrapped, along with seat increases at several colleges that he says do not meet the standards.
He is also calling for the commission's vice-chair and the university's vice-chancellor and registrar to be suspended pending an independent investigation of their appointments, qualifications and possible conflicts of interest. His other demands include running the Geta teaching hospital at full capacity, strictly enforcing the 75 percent scholarship quota at institutions that use public resources, reversing the decision to cancel the Bardibas Medical College project, and setting up government medical colleges in Ilam, Udayapur and Dadeldhura as previously agreed.
Background
KC has staged 24 hunger strikes since his first in 2012, according to My Republica and Nagarik News. The most recent was a seven-day strike in Dhangadhi, Kailali, that ended in July 2026 with a seven-point agreement with the government. People close to KC say that agreement has not been implemented.
Nagarik News reported that the cabinet decided on Wednesday to address demands raised by various health-sector movements.