Dr Sudha Gautam, former minister for Health and Population, said she was pressured by various quarters to transfer Dr Krishna Prasad Paudel, then head of the Policy Planning and Monitoring Division at the ministry, on the grounds that he was appointed by the previous government.

Gautam, who served in the Sushila Karki-led non-partisan, caretaker government following the Gen-Z protest that toppled the KP Sharma Oli-led government, however, ignored all pressure and let Paudel continue the job he had been doing.

“All documents were destroyed in the fire during the Gen Z protest, and I was pressured to transfer all experienced and capable officials,” said Gautam. “In Dr Paudel’s case, I refused outright. He fulfilled his responsibilities excellently, and I later appointed him as head of the Nepal Health Insurance Board, which is still facing many problems, including a financial crisis.”

Incumbent Health Minister Nisha Mehata, however, later recalled Paudel from deputation and transferred him to Gajendra Narayan Singh Hospital in Rajbiraj. Paudel is among over a dozen senior officials who had been leading various departments, divisions and centres under the Health Ministry before Minister Mehata transferred them.

Chiefs of the Family Welfare Division, Department of Drug Administration, National Medicine Laboratory, Policy Planning and Monitoring Division, Quality Standard and Regulation Division, Health Coordination Division, SAARC TB and HIV/AIDS Centre, National Health Training Centre, Vector Borne Disease Research and Training Centre are among those transferred by the incumbent minister.

“Transferring officials is the minister’s prerogative, and I, too, transferred several officials during my tenure, but arbitrary transfers will hurt the health system,” Gautam told the Post.

The recent reshuffle of senior health officials has triggered concern among public health experts and former bureaucrats, who say frequent and politically driven transfers weaken institutional memory, disrupt continuity in key health programmes and delay decision-making in a sector that relies heavily on technical expertise and long-term planning.

Dr Gautam, who previously served as secretary for Health and Population and as director of Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital, said the experiences and expertise of officials appointed by previous governments should not be ignored.

Multiple officials—sitting and former—as well as health experts the Post spoke to, said that not all officials appointed by previous governments are incapable or politically connected. Many are experts in their respective fields and can really make a difference in Nepal’s public health sector.

“Arbitrary transfers of senior officials could backfire,” said Dr Padam Bahadur Chand, former chief of Policy Planning and International Cooperation Division at the Health Ministry. “I don’t understand why the government acted in such haste, as it is expected to serve its full five-year term. It should have consulted experts and stakeholders before making decisions.”

The directors of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division and the Family Welfare Division were appointed around five months ago, during Gautam’s tenure.

Health officials warn that frequent transfer of officials from key agencies that oversee various crucial programmes, including epidemic and outbreak control, maternal and child health, immunisation, nutrition, among others, could undermine Nepal’s efforts to control multiple communicable, non-communicable, vector-borne diseases and achieve national and international health goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals.

“This is not the first time experienced officials have been transferred arbitrarily,” said Dr Baburam Marasini, a public health expert. “We expected the new government to establish a merit-based transfer policy, but this government seems no different from its predecessors.”

Officials say the health sector may look like a single sector, but it is vast and highly specialised. They say the public health system depends not just on infrastructure but also on experienced doctors, public health specialists, lab technicians, information analysts, and competent administrators.

And it takes months for new officials to fully understand the issues and systems they oversee and this delays both decision-making process and implementation.

“Even representatives from aid agencies have been affected by the high turnover of officials,” said an official at the Department of Health Services, asking not to be named, as he is not authorised to speak to the media. “By the time new officials understand and approve projects proposed by development partners, another transfer often takes place.”

Health officials say arbitrary transfers disrupt communication and coordination across the system, and new officials often have to start from scratch.

“We often talk about a stable government that can give results over a full term, but our bureaucracy continues to fall victim to the whims of ministers and their advisors,” says Marasini.