Concept Note - Community Meeting in Nepal
A Landmark Year for openIMIS and Nepal’s Health Insurance Journey
The year 2026 marks an important moment for the openIMIS initiative and its vibrant global community. What began in 2016 - with the visionary backing of SDC and BMZ - has evolved into a Digital Public Good (DPG), empowering countries worldwide in their pursuit of Universal Health Coverage and Universal Social Protection. Over the past decade, openIMIS has transformed from a specialized health insurance management tool into a versatile, open-source platform for health and social protection. Its modular architecture enables countries to customize solutions to their unique contexts, while fostering global collaboration and innovation within and beyond the openIMIS community.
Today, openIMIS delivers comprehensive solutions for health insurance, employment injury insurance, voucher programs, cash transfer and beneficiary management (social registries / integrated beneficiary registry). With expanded applications in humanitarian assistance and climate-related risk mitigation in development / preparation, the community and its partners continue to push boundaries. Already implemented in 14 countries and serving over 38.8 Mio beneficiaries, openIMIS exemplifies scalability, adaptability and impact.
This year also holds special significance for Nepal, home to two of the largest openIMIS implementations, reaching nearly 20 million beneficiaries. As Nepal celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Social Health Insurance (SHI) program, it reflects on a decade of remarkable progress. Launched in April 2016 under the Nepal Health Insurance Act, the program – led by the Health Insurance Board (HIB) – began as a pilot in three districts before expanding to all 77 provinces today. With support from GIZ’s bilateral Health Program the initiative prioritized the informal sector, while the Social Security Fund (SSF) later extended coverage to include formal sector Health Insurance and Employment Injury Insurance, now encompassing 22,000 registered employers.
To honour these achievements, Nepal is proud to host the openIMIS Community Meeting – a gathering of users, developers, implementers and partners from around the world. More than a celebration, this event is a forum to reflect on lessons learned, share best practices, and shape the future of openIMIS for implementation world wide.
The openIMIS Community Meeting is organized by the openIMIS Coordination Desk with the support of BMZ, SDC and the EU. The Health Insurance Board and Social Security Fund in Nepal will act as the host of the meeting. GIZ Nepal and especially the GIZ bilateral program Support to Health System Strengthening assist the openIMIS Coordination Desk in conducting the event.