Background
Despite significant effort and reduction in childhood undernutrition, malnutrition is still a public health problem in Nepal. The transition through double burden of malnutrition and increase in the incidence of diet related non-communicable diseases has been a challenge in recent times. A valid food composition database would be a good start to study dietary intake of the population and to develop targeted and effective nutrition policies and programs to the vulnerable groups. Likewise, our partner university in Nepal has expressed its need for evidence-based nutrition education and a renewal in their education related to food security, overweight and the sustainability of food systems.
Goal
NERC project aims to improve the capacity for nutrition education and research in Nepalese universities in an inclusive and working-life-relevant way by:
1) Building a new valid electronic Nepalese food composition database that can be used together with suitable dietary software for calculating the dietary intakes of people in Nepal
2) Strengthening the skills of nutrition teachers, students and working dietitians/nutritionists to collect more valid data on food consumption and dietary intake of people in Nepal, and to analyse the data using the new dietary database and dietary software
3) Renewing teaching contents and methods on courses related to food security and the sustainability of food systems.
Impact
We believe that our project will improve the quality of nutrition education and nutrition research capacity in universities in Nepal. As a result, universities in Nepal contribute to sustainable development, food security and healthy nutrition by providing high-quality, inclusive and working-life-relevant nutrition education and improved infrastructure for nutrition research in Nepal.
Funding source
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, HEP programme 2023-2026
The Higher Education Partnership (HEP) Programme supports cooperation projects between higher education institutions in Finland and the developing world. The projects support the higher education institutions as they develop their subject-specific, methodological, educational and administrative capacity. The programme is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and administered by the Finnish National Agency for Education.
Coordinating organisation
Tampere University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Unit of Health Sciences
Partners
Tribhuvan University (TU)
Tribhuvan University, established in 1959, is the oldest and the largest university in Nepal. The university has five technical institutes and four general faculties. Two central departments are involved as partners in the NERC project.
Central Department of Public Health (CDPH)
The public health degree programs started at Maharajgunj Medical Campus at Tribhuvan University in 1986. The CDPH was established in 2018 and it is now an autonomous body of public health education under the patronage of TU. It currently hosts about 225 students in bachelors, master’s and doctoral level education programmes in public health, health promotion and education, and public health nutrition.
Central Department of Home Sciences (CDHS)
The Central Department of Home Sciences was established in 1986. It offers master’s degree programmes and doctoral programmes in Home Science with specialization options in Food and Nutrition, and in Child Development and Gender Socialization. It also offers post graduate courses in Dietetics and Public Health Nutrition and Women Studies.
At Tampere University, Faculty of Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Tampere, Finland
At Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal
Board members
Amod Poudyal, chair of the project board
Professor of Biostatistics, Head of the Central Department of Public Health
Jaya Laxmi Pradhan
Professor of Nutrition, Campus Chief of the Padmakanya Multiple Campus
Narayan Khanal
Chief Legal Advisor of Tribhuvan University
Central Department of Public Health
Rojina Basnet
Project Coordinator
Master’s in Public Health Nutrition
Sabina Sigdel
Project officer
Master’s in Public Health Nutrition
Sujata Shakya
Supervising teacher
Master’s in Public Health
Durga Pahari
Supervising teacher
Master’s in Public Health
Central Department of Home Sciences
Neeti Kayastha
Project coordinator
Master’s in Arts (specialization in Food and Nutrition)
Prativa AC
Project officer (until 31st October 2024)
Master’s in Arts (specialization in Food and Nutrition)
Aruna Gyawali
Supervising teacher
Master’s in Arts (specialization in Food and Nutrition)
Sweta Bade
Supervising teacher
Master’s in Arts (specialization in Food and Nutrition)
Contact information
Tarja Kinnunen, Unit of Health Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland, email: tarja.kinnunen [at] tuni.fi, phone: +358 40 190 1632
Attending European Public Health Conference in Helsinki (November 2025)
NERC-team members from Finland participated in the European Public Health Conference in Helsinki in mid-November (https://ephconference.eu/). The conference programme was divided into about 16 parallel tracks and poster presentations. A part of the presentations were related to nutrition topics. There were about 3000 delegates from 88 different countries in the conference - the days were lively and filled with many different interactions. The NERC team had a poster presentation. Photo, from left: Praju Adhikari, Bidhya Acharya Adhikari, Tarja Kinnunen and Armineh Rajabi in front of the NERC project poster.
Erasmus Intern in Finland (August – November 2025)
Let’s hear our intern’s story from her experience in our project at Tampere University:
Hello! My name is Armineh Rajabi, and I joined the NERC project as an Erasmus+ intern from August until mid-November 2025. I am a public health nutrition student at Hacettepe University, in Turkey.
First, I would like to express my gratitude for this opportunity to spend three months contributing to such a meaningful project. During my internship, I assisted the project team with various tasks, including taking meeting notes, preparing a poster presentation for the EPH Congress in Helsinki, writing blog posts for the website, and helping with journal selection and article preparation.
At the beginning of my internship, I familiarized myself with the project goals and existing data, completed the FAO Food Composition course, and learned about nutrition education in Nepal. In addition, I participated in team meetings, prepared meeting memos, and wrote content for the project’s website and social media.
I also tested the new dietary intake calculator and wrote a report reflecting my experience as a dietitian using it for the first time, evaluating whether the results produced were reasonable and user-friendly.
Beyond my work, I also had the chance to travel around Finland, explore beautiful Tampere, and learn about Finnish culture and cuisine.
This internship has been a very valuable experience for me. I learned a lot about food composition data, nutrition education, research, teamwork, and international collaboration. I truly enjoyed being part of a team that works to strengthen nutrition education and research capacity in Nepal.
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Tarja, my supervisor, for her support, and to the entire NERC project team for being so kind, helpful, and welcoming throughout my stay.
Updates from Kathmandu (October 2025)
The NERC project coordinator Tarja Kinnunen from Tampere University visited Kathmandu in mid-October 2025. The week was full of meetings with the Nepalese partners and stakeholders. On one day, NERC team members from the two partner departments got together to plan the trainings which we will organize in Kathmandu in May 2026. Nutrition teachers from other Nepalese universities and members of Nepal Dietitian Association will be invited to these trainings. The trainings will focus on the use of the new food composition database and integrated dietary intake calculator, as well as teaching of dietary data collection methods, food security, and sustainability of food systems. The NERC team teachers also made plans for writing a journal article about the work that we do to strengthen nutrition teaching in universities in Nepal.
On 16th October, the NERC team members Rojina Basnet, Sabina Sigdel and Tarja Kinnunen visited the Nutrition Section of Family Welfare Division under Department of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Population, in Kathmandu. The team met members from the Nutrition Section, including public health officers, nutrition officers and nutrition specialists. The meeting was chaired by the Nutrition Section Chief, Mr. Lila Bikram Thapa. The NERC team gave a brief presentation of the project and talked about the ongoing food composition database and the dietary intake calculator in more detail. After the presentation, the discussion also focused on possible ways for the wider dissemination and use of the database among different stakeholders. The Nutrition Section Chief expressed that Nutrition Section will no doubt be one of the potential users of the database and support the promotion and advocacy of the use of the food composition database.
Tarja Kinnunen also visited the Embassy of Finland and shared the status and plans of the NERC project with representatives of the Embassy. They were supportive and shared their interest in participating in forthcoming stakeholder meetings and trainings arranged by the NERC team.
14th International Food Data Conference in Rome (September 2025)
In the beginning of September, Project Officers Praju Adhikari and Bidhya Acharya Adhikari and Project Coordinator Tarja Kinnunen from Finland attended the 14th International Food Data Conference hosted by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome.
Our abstract, “Development of Nepali Food Composition Database with Integrated Dietary Intake Calculator,” was selected for oral presentation at the global conference. Praju Adhikari delivered the presentation, which was followed by an engaging question and answer session with the audience. The work received appreciation from international experts and colleagues in the field of food data, recognizing our progress in developing a comprehensive food composition database and intake calculator for further research in Nepal. This achievement highlights our team’s growing contribution to global food data initiatives and reinforces the importance of advancing food composition data related work in Nepal.
Photo: FAO, Giulio Napolitano
Teaching and learning experience on a revised course at the CDHS (September 2025)
In line with the NERC project’s goals to strengthen nutrition education and capacity building within Nepal’s universities, significant strides have been made to enhance curricula and provide essential resources at the Central Department of Home Science (CDHS). Recently, the department has implemented a revised course on anthropometric measurement for second-semester Master’s students. Feedback has been collected from both teachers and students to support further development and improvement.
Teachers’ experience on implementation of a revised course
The responsible teacher has integrated both updated theoretical content and practical applications when teaching anthropometric measurement methods. The project’s provision of calibrated anthropometric equipment (including digital weighing scales, stadiometers, skin fold calipers, and MUAC tapes) has enabled effective hands-on learning. Previously, the limited availability of equipment constrained student practice, impacting their ability to master techniques and build confidence in using them. With access to the newly supplied tools, the teacher has observed marked improvements in student participation, measurement accuracy, and learning during practical sessions.
Feedback from the teachers shows that anthropometric measurement methods are now taught in a more organized and relevant way than previously, with a strong emphasis on skill development using better equipment. This improvement directly addresses previous limitations and supports the project’s goal of building technical capacity among future nutrition professionals in Nepal.
Learning experience of students
Students have expressed enthusiasm for the revised course and the opportunity to practice with actual measurement instruments. The availability of equipment has made learning more engaging and effective, and better preparing them for fieldwork and clinical practice. While students appreciate these advances, they also suggest purchasing more equipment to allow more students to practice simultaneously and reduce waiting times during sessions.
Highlights from implementing a revised course at the CDPH (August 2025)
As part of the NERC project, teacher Rojina Basnet from the Central Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently implemented a revised course focusing on dietary assessment methods. The updated course places strong emphasis on both theoretical knowledge and hands-on training to better prepare students for real-world applications in public health nutrition.
Key Highlights of the Practical Sessions
Students practiced conducting one-on-one 24-hour dietary recall interviews, learning techniques to probe for accuracy, minimize recall bias, and capture portion sizes. Through role-play and peer-to-peer exercises, they gained confidence in collecting valid and reliable dietary intake data. During the feedback on the 24-hour dietary recall, most students reported difficulty in estimating portion sizes and recalling the exact household measures used.
Photo: Rojina BasnetStudents were introduced to the food diary method, where they were provided with structured forms to take home and record their dietary intake. To ensure variation, half of the students were asked to complete the diary for weekdays, while the other half recorded their intake over the weekend. They documented all foods and beverages consumed during the specified period. After completing the task, students reviewed their own forms, practicing how to check for completeness and assess the quality of self-reported dietary data. Students reported challenges in accurately measuring portion sizes and mentioned that carrying the forms while eating in different settings was inconvenient. They also expressed feeling self-conscious during meals because they had to record their intake.
Regarding the food frequency questionnaire method (FFQ), students were asked to fill up the forms in the classroom. The session on FFQ provided exposure to administering questionnaires that capture habitual dietary patterns of the previous one month. Students engaged in exercises to adapt FFQs to local food cultures, ensuring cultural relevance and accuracy in dietary assessment. Students shared that they found it difficult to recall the food items they had consumed over the past month.
Photo: Rojina BasnetReflections from the experience
The implementation of the revised course not only enhanced technical skills but also encouraged critical thinking about the strengths and limitations of each method. Students reported that the practical sessions made the learning process more engaging, allowing them to connect classroom concepts with field applications. Improvements were observed in students’ confidence with both the theoretical and practical aspects of the dietary assessment methods.
This experience highlights the value of integrating practice-based learning into nutrition education. The sessions helped students to get hands-on expertise in dietary assessment tools. Thus, the revised curriculum has contributed to providing a more accurate and context-specific resource for our department.
Stakeholder meetings in Nepal (April and May 2025)
Nepal Dietitians Association
The President Nani Shova Shakya and Secretary Binita Pant from Nepal Dietitians Association visited the Central Department of Home Science in Kathmandu on 25th April. They met the NERC project team and heard about the work we have been doing to develop a new food composition database and intake calculator for Nepal. They were interested in our work and found it a useful tool for dietitians’ work in the future. We discussed how they usually measure dietary intake in clinical practice. They shared some concerns regarding dietary measurement and gave us a few suggestions for further development of the database.
Department of Food Technology and Quality Control
On 27th April, a few of our team members visited the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control in Kathmandu. This organization is responsible for maintaining the Nepalese Food Composition Table. Tarja and Sabina introduced the NERC project, particularly our food composition database work, to six staff members and they had an opportunity to ask questions and comment on our work. The main feedback was that they would like to start negotiating an official agreement between our institutions soon. This agreement would specify the roles and responsibilities of each institution with regard to the new food composition database.
Pokhara University and Gandaki Medical College
On 6th May, project board member Meri Koivusalo and project coordinator Tarja Kinnunen visited two institutions in Pokhara, Nepal. Gandaki Medical College Teaching Hospital and Research Center is a Tribhuvan University affiliated college with multiple clinical programs including a bachelor and a master’s program in Public Health. Pokhara University’s School of Health and Allied Sciences also provides master's and bachelor's degree programs in Public Health, alongside other health science programs. Tarja gave a brief overview of the NERC project to the representatives at these institutions, which was well received. They also discussed the nutrition contents of the health science programs at both colleges. Informally, both institutes expressed their interest in supporting the project.
A 6-day training for teachers at Tribhuvan University (April 2025)
We successfully conducted a 6-day training for teachers at Tribhuvan University, with a total of 15 participants representing our partner departments (Central Department of Home Science and Central Department of Public Health). Project coordinator Tarja Kinnunen and board member Meri Koivusalo from Tampere University visited Kathmandu for the training. The Nepal-based project coordinators, supervising teachers, project officer and intern were also actively involved. The training focused on three key areas: dietary assessment methods, food security, and the sustainability of food systems. The 6-day program included a combination of lectures and practical sessions, held over three days at each department.
The intensive training days started with lectures on the themes of the day, followed by practical sessions for the same, mostly facilitated by the NERC project team. The topics covered were measurement of food and nutrient intake using 24-hour dietary recall, food frequency questionnaire, and food diary. Anthropometric measurement methods were also described during lectures and demonstration of different tools such as mid-upper arm circumference tape, stadiometer, and length/height board.
Furthermore, the global and national status of food security and sustainable food systems were explored via lectures and discussions of relevant literature. Another important component of the training was the introduction of the new food composition database, where the work undertaken by the project officers was highlighted and the new Excel-based dietary intake calculator was used for practical exercise. As one of the focus areas of the NERC project is development of teaching, the training also had workshops on pedagogical methods and the implementation of the revised courses. The 6-day training concluded with a lecture on global food policy and politics by Professor Meri Koivusalo.
Based on anonymous feedback collection, the participants generally had a positive outlook toward the training. We were also pleased to receive constructive feedback about both the content-related matters and practical arrangements of the training. There were also evaluative comments regarding dietary intake calculator, and we hope to address them in the future.
An intern in Nepal (March - May 2025)
Natasha Chand, a master's student from Tampere University, joined the NERC team as an intern for three months (March - May). Her primary tasks revolved around the dietary database work, and facilitation of communication during a 6-day training. Her first week of work was at Tampere University, after which she was stationed at one of the partner departments, the Central Department of Public Health, Tribhuvan University. To get familiar with the food composition database work, she first took the FAO online course on Food Composition Data (https://elearning.fao.org/course/view.php?id=191). Then, she mainly documented detailed information on the earlier recipes that have been compiled and calculated by the project officers and made necessary updates to them. For the database, she also took photographs of industrialized foods and documented them for reference. She participated in team meetings for both work packages and prepared meeting memos. She assisted in practical arrangements related to the 6-day training. She also wrote content for the project website and social media. For the last week of her internship, she returned to Finland and wrapped up her tasks.
Update on development of teaching (February 2025)
Since September 2024, we have been revising the detailed learning objectives, course contents, literature, and teaching methods of nutrition courses at the CDHS and CDPH to align with the latest research and best practices. Our focus is on content related to dietary measurement methods, food security, and the sustainability of food systems. The revised courses will provide students with a holistic perspective, combining theoretical knowledge with practical applications. In April 2025, our project will arrange a 6-day training course for nutrition teachers at the CDHS and CDPH to ensure that they are equipped to implement the revised courses in the next academic year.
One of the objectives of our project is to support vulnerable student. After discussing different options, we decided to install vending machines in female toilets at the CDHS and CDPH to sell affordable sanitary pads and tampons. This initiative will help female students attend classes during their menstrual periods. Administrative staff will manage refills, ensuring continued use after the project ends.
To support the delivery of the revised courses, we have purchased new books, equipment, and tools that facilitate hands-on learning and research (see the photos).
Food composition database taking shape (February 2025)
We have developed a common documentation template and guidelines to record all the information compiled from different sources for the food composition database work. Proper documentation is crucial to assess the validity of the database. We have also been actively involved in all the background work necessary for the development of the food composition database. For example, we have consulted food composition data experts from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), National Institute for Health & Welfare (THL in Finland), and Quadram Institute (in the UK) regarding calculation, compilation and other details of dietary database work.
In addition to a valid national food composition database, researchers and dietitians need suitable software or a tool for calculating the dietary intake of individuals based on the foods and drinks they have consumed over multiple days. When the project started, we had identified one affordable software that might have been suitable for dietary intake calculation in Nepal. After all, the software had many limitations and did not suit our purposes. We decided to hire a data layout strategist, Rupak Basnet, to develop an Excel-based user-friendly dietary intake calculation interface. The new interface will be equipped with the new food composition database and all the necessary information needed for calculating dietary intake of individuals in Nepal.
Nepalese partners visiting Tampere (September 2024)
The NERC project team members and project board members from the two partner departments of Tribhuvan University came for a visit to Tampere University in September. The Nepalese board members Amod Poudyal, Jaya Laxmi Pradhan and Narayan Khanal met the Finnish board members Meri Koivusalo and Salla Atkins for the first time face-to-face. The project coordinators, project officers and supervising teachers presented the progress made to date, shared the challenges faced and discussed the future plans with the board members.
On 6th September, the whole project group visited the funder’s representatives at the Ministry of Education in Helsinki. This was the first physical meeting with Anne Peltonen, Sanna Takala and Maija Airas. We presented the progress in the NERC project so far and got some valuable feedback from them. In the afternoon, we visited the National Institute for Health and Welfare and met Finnish food composition database expert Heli Reinivuo and other senior team members Heli Tapanainen and Suvi Virtanen. Our project officers presented our Nepalese food composition database work to them in more detail. We discussed many questions and got good technical suggestions for solving some challenging issues.
The project officers started working on finalizing the documentation process of the food composition database work. We reviewed the previously calculated recipes and their documentation. A common template was developed to document all steps of the recipe calculation work in a uniform and precise way. We also reviewed various guidelines (published by the Food and Agriculture Organization and European Food Safety Authority), food composition tables and scientific articles regarding food classification and descriptions used. This enables us to code food items and calculate recipes for our food composition database in a scientific and accurate way.
During these weeks, the NERC project teachers focused on curriculum development of courses related to dietary measurement methods, food security and sustainable food systems. We reviewed the current curricula of the partner departments, identified courses related to these three topics, assessed the objectives and contents of the courses, and made suggestions how to revise the contents. We reviewed the teaching and learning methods on those courses and discussed possibilities to improve them further. We also planned what new equipment to purchase for the implementation of the revised courses and how to support vulnerable students in the partner departments.
Meeting partners in Nepal (March 2024)
The project team from Finland visited Nepal for two weeks after the training course in Hyderabad, India. They met the project board members, coordinators and supervising teachers from the Central Department of Public Health and the Central Department of Home Sciences. Meetings involved discussions on the project contracts, selection of project workers and planning the project work.
There was a vacancy announcement for NERC project workers in Nepal on a national daily newspaper. We received a significant number of applications. Tarja, Praju and Bidhya interviewed the shortlisted candidates at the Central Department of Home Sciences. Sabina Sigdel and Prativa AC Achhami were selected as project workers for our project, and they started calculating the nutrient contents of Nepali dishes from the beginning of May.
Training course in Hyderabad, India (February 2024)
From 19th to 24th February, 2024, Tarja Kinnunen, Praju Adhikari and Bidhya Acharya from Tampere University, and Neeti Kayastha and Aruna Gyawali from Central Department of Home Sciences, Tribhuvan University participated in a week long course “Production, management and use of food composition data on nutrition” organized by South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) FOODS regional center in association with Indian Council of Medical Research, and National Institute of Nutrition, in Hyderabad, India.
It was a great learning opportunity right at the beginning of the project. We completed the pre-assignment, attended lectures and participated in group tasks, discussions and presentations on topics regarding every step involved in development of a food composition database. There was a separate session for recipe calculation which is the backbone of our project. We got an opportunity to ask questions, learn from experts and tell them about our work. We also built connections with experts in the field of food composition database development which will be very useful for us in the future.
