16th AGM of TPO Nepal
The 16th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of TPO Nepal was held on 5 March 2021 at TPO Nepal central office in the presence of the executive board, board members, technical advisors, and all staff members. Dr. Mita Rana, Chairperson of TPO Nepal, chaired the meeting and Pitambar Koirala, Head of Program Department hosted the meeting, which lasted two hours. A total of 58 participants participated in the AGM which was conducted both in-person and virtually.
After the formal welcome, Dr. Mita Rana thanked the board members, staff, government representatives, regulatory boards, donors, community people, and other stakeholders for their continuous support and coordination to the organization and hoped for the same in the future.
Then, Dr. Kamal Gautam, Executive Manager of TPO Nepal, presented TPO Nepal’s activities and achievements in the year 2020. He shared that TPO Nepal was able to reach out to over 16500 individuals via various programs in 2020. The programs included counseling, interventions, helpline, psychiatric support, medical support, capacity building, awareness and advocacy activities, quarantine and isolation center visits, virtual webinars, and research activities. “Although COVID-19 hampered our activities and milestones, we were able to reach out to many beneficiaries in need of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) this year”, said Dr. Gautam. Then, the organization’s financial report for the past year (2076/77) and estimated budget for the upcoming year (2077/78) was presented by Krishna Kumar Karki, Treasurer of TPO Nepal.
TPO Nepal’s current organizational policies, policies to be updated, and new policies to be made were similarly presented by Suraj Koirala, Member and Technical Advisor of TPO Nepal. The organization’s membership list was updated during the meeting and the auction list and appointed auditor for the upcoming fiscal year was also passed by the board.
During the meeting, TPO Nepal’s past Executive Manager Dr. Nawaraj Upadhaya was felicitated for completing his Ph.D. on the mental health system in Nepal and past staff Manaswi Sangraula was also congratulated for her Ph.D. defense. Similarly, Jamuna Shrestha was felicitated for her continuous contribution and dedication to the organization before her voluntary retirement.
During the remarks, one of the Sr. Technical Advisors of TPO Nepal Prof. Dr. Shishir Subba expressed his views about the success of the organization. “Thanks to its hardworking staff and a focus on research and intervention, TPO Nepal has stood out in the field of mental health and psychosocial in Nepal”, said Dr. Subba.
Similarly, Dr. Saroj Ojha, Head of Psychiatry Department at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) urged everyone to develop peace of mind and also congratulated TPO Nepal for all its achievements. In the end, the meeting was formally closed by the chair of the meeting Dr. Mita Rana by thanking everyone for their participation and support.
