Message from Pitambar Aryal

Mr. Pitambar Aryal actively involved with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and UNDP for more than 25 years domestically with Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), Canadian Red Cross and UNDP as well as internationally for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Danish Red Cross. He had served in leadership/management roles as well as technical advisory roles in different contexts ranging from development to crisis settings.

His major areas of expertise include emergency/crisis management, climate risk management/ disaster risk management, disaster response/recovery, community development, community-based health/ WASH and organizational development. He was assigned as the Secretary General for Nepal Red Cross Society for around two years, a largest humanitarian organization in Nepal. He was faculty for Humanitarian Assistant at Institute of Crisis Management, Dhumbarahi Kathmandu from January 2022 to 2023. He has been pursuing a PhD program in development study focused on climate induced disasters and consequences in human health at Kathmandu University since 2023.

Mr. Aryal also took a responsibility of Health Program Manager at Canadian Red Cross Society based in Nepal. He had managed the Disaster and Crisis Preparedness Response and Recovery programs (3rd September 2018 to 2nd May 2019) at the IFRC MENA regional office Beirut, Lebanon as the Acting Head of DCPRR unit. He was also involved with IFRC as the head of country office for Yemen for around four years. In addition to his other previous roles with UNDP, Danish Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross and NRCS; he was deployed by IFRC as Health Delegate in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2008 and Regional Coordinator for the South Asia Red Cross and Red Crescent Network on HIV/AIDS from 2001 to 2002. He had spent more than 60 percent of his career (around 15 years) working in conflict affect areas mainly in internal and international armed conflict in Nepal as well as in Afghanistan and Yemen.

Specific to Nepal, Mr. Aryal worked with Nepal Red Cross Society for nearly 18 years in key management positions including as Director for Youth Red Cross Department, Health Service Department, Disaster Management Department and Secretary General. In addition, he was Program Manager for UNDP’s Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management Program.

Trained as Field Assessment Coordination Team (FACT), Regional Disaster Response Team, Public Health in Emergencies, Health Emergency in Large Population (HELP) and HITs and other national and international health program management, disaster risk management as well as humanitarian assistance courses. Mr. Aryal has attended several national and international workshops/conferences and made presentations, he is a good trainer, facilitator, and manager. He prefers to be called a humanitarian practitioner/professional.  He has published scientific articles in national and international peer reviewed journals in the humanitarian field. He has completed master’s degree in public health (MPH) from Netherlands, Post Graduate Diploma in Disaster Management (PGDDM) and master’s degree in Sociology (MA) from New Delhi, India and master’s degree in health education (MEd) from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu Nepal. He has been pursuing a PhD program from Kathmandu University since 2023.

 His hobbies are playing badminton and table tennis as well as exploring new places both at national and international level along with different cultures, traditions and customs. He wants to engage in providing humanitarian services to marginalized groups of the society mainly children, women, elderly, people with disability and ethnic minority.