Dr. Usha Jha, Nepal Advisory Board Member

Dr. Usha Jha is former member of National Planning Commission and a renowned leader in the field of women’s economic empowerment in Nepal. With a Ph.D. in Chemistry and extensive experiences in community development and social inclusion, Dr. Jha has spent over two decades working tirelessly to uplift marginalized communities in Nepal through a women owned and managed national level NGO - Samjhauta Nepal. Dr. Jha has also been a part of several national and international projects aimed at improving the quality of life for marginalized communities in Nepal. She has worked with organizations such as Pact International and UNFPA and partnered with organizations like Winrock, IDE, International Alert, Mission East, Care Nepal, Save the Children, The Global Fund and different government ministries for a period of more than fifteen years where she could develop a strong networking with donors like EU,USAID, World Bank, Rotary Club Germany and could develop a reach to more than 200,000 women in more than 40 districts of Nepal, connecting communities to the resources.

The major focus of her work has been empowering women farmers and organizing them into savings and literacy-led economic groups in order to decrease their economic dependency and integrating this to the different needs of women/community eg education, peace building and health. She brings an extensive experiences of teaching, research and management through her work as faculty at Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences (IAAS) in the Central Campus and also as a Campus Chief at the branch campus in IAAS, Lamjung.

In addition, she is a member of various committees, including the Steering Committee Member of South Asian Policy Leadership for Improved Nutrition and Growth (SAPLING), Board Member of Madan Bhandari Institute of Science and Technology (MOBUST) Development Board, and Women Advisory Group to the Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Welfare Kathmandu Nepal, a Civil Society Advisory Group of UN Women, Social Inclusion Research Fund (SIRF) and Program for Accountability in Nepal. She is continuously working for community friendly GESI approach with a team of national and international consultants. Dr. Jha’s dedication and tireless efforts have helped improve the lives of thousands of people in Nepal, and she continues to inspire others to work towards a better future.