Suman Nepal
Program Manager / CODE Strategies Project Focal Point
Blue Diamond Society (BDS)
Nepal
Suman leads the CODE Strategies project at the Blue Diamond Society (BDS), Nepal’s pioneering LGBTQI+ rights organisation. As Programme Manager and project focal point, Suman has steered Nepal’s community-led digital HIV response — from launching the testKTM campaign to building the capacity of activists in community-led monitoring (CLM).
What do you enjoy most about what you do?
“I enjoy navigating and learning the diverse emerging community issues. The opportunity to navigate and understand emerging community issues.I love the continuous learning that comes with tackling diverse challenges and finding ways to support the community as it evolves.”What do you find most difficult about what you do?
“My biggest challenge is time management, specifically ensuring I don’t let project timelines slide. At times, despite my firm stance to avoid the last-minute rush, I have found myself edging too close to deadlines.”
Suman has been at the center of the CODE Strategies project in Nepal since its inception, working across its two components: community-led online and digital engagement, and strengthening community capacity in community-led monitoring (CLM).
Under Suman’s coordination, BDS designed and launched the testKTM website (officially launched on 15 January 2025), a digital hub providing information, resources and campaign engagement on HIV testing and PrEP for Kathmandu’s communities. Working with civil society organisations and social media influencers, the campaign reached more than 12,000 community members and beneficiaries (7,218 male and 5,042 female) in its first year.
Some proudest moments include:
- Organising Pride Month activities that drew over 200 attendees — including UN delegates, embassy and government representatives — where drag performances carried messages on safe sex, HIV testing and PrEP.
- Convening a National CLM Dialogue with the UNAIDS country office, equipping BDS’s HIV implementing partners with skills to monitor services, analyse data and conduct evidence-based advocacy.
- Facilitating sensitisation workshops that trained 32 government health providers and 7 community members on person-centred care.
- Supporting HIV service results in year one: 4,439 people reached, 1,374 tested, and 392 initiated on PrEP.
A defining challenge was the sudden suspension of PEPFAR funding, which disrupted planned activities and prompted the team to advocate for domestic funding and diversified funding sources. Since then, our advocacy and initiation have been with the government to ensure the financial sustainability of HIV prevention through increased domestic funding allocation and greater government ownership of community-led initiatives, reducing dependence on international donors. In the coming years, we are planning for an integrated approach towards mental health, livelihood support, and social protection mechanisms linked to HIV programming, addressing the root vulnerabilities that contribute to risky coping mechanisms, including survival sex work and gender-responsive health care services; and strengthened multi-sector coordination and collaboration among government agencies and community-led organizations for effective service delivery.
About the project
About the organisation behind the project
