Pooja Pradhan

As a National Professional Officer working in family health, gender and life course with the WHO Country Office in Nepal, Pooja Pradhan’s role is to develop and define affordable basic health care service packages to help the population, including providing those hardest to reached with the health care they need. Pooja says her goal is always to reduce preventable maternal and newborn mortalities. She also works to ensure the adoption of recommendations for quality of health services across the life course and provide support to the Government of Nepal in the area of maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health.

Nepal is a poor country with low literacy rates, especially among girls. “I've always felt very lucky because both my parents saw the need for our education and always prioritized providing for it,” she says. “Through my medical career, I feel that I have found a way to give back to the community.”  

Earlier in her career she worked as a physician at a busy women’s hospital in Kathmandu and saw women from around the country for maternity and reproductive health services. Although she managed many complicated cases that she felt could have been prevented through education, awareness and better access to care, one became a major part of her decision to pursue a career in public health. This young woman was admitted to the hospital with severe complications following an obstructed labour. They treated her for two weeks before she was able to speak about what happened, and what she said completely transformed Pooja's view of health care.

The young woman was married at an early age and this was her first time being pregnant. Although she lived near the city, she hadn't visited a health facility or seen a health worker during her pregnancy. She was at home with her family when her labour began but the delivery was delayed. Instead of helping her get to proper care, the villagers had her jump down the stairs and carry a heavy person to pressure the baby's delivery. This caused an internal haemorrhage and she went into shock. Only then was she taken to the hospital.

There she was treated for a ruptured womb, pelvic bone dislocation and tears in her urinary bladder. They also needed to remove her womb, ending her chance of conceiving again. The team was able to save the young woman’s life that day, but they could not save her baby. “She would feel the consequences of these events for the rest of her life,” Pooja says, “and the memory will stay with me for the rest of mine. Doctors see many tragic things every day but this one haunts me because it was so completely preventable.” 

Pooja is no stranger to the many barriers that woman face in education, nutrition, early marriage, family planning services and care during pregnancy and delivery. She began to imagine that it must be so much worse for women in rural areas, and realized that she could do more for these women and mothers. It motivated her to pursue a master’s degree in public health and work in reproductive and maternal health programmes. She then found a role at WHO to provide technical support for countries to identify and decide on strategies for ensuring quality health services. 

Pooja notes that like any job, there are successes and there are challenges. “But when I see young women smiling with their newborn children, I am proud to contribute to WHO’s priority programmes for the reduction of maternal and newborn mortality.” She knows there are many countries like Nepal with similar issues, and through WHO’s global reach she looks forward to a career spanning other programmes and countries.