KATHMANDU, MAY 19
Dr Arne Drews, a German pulmonologist and long-time friend of Nepal, has been awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Cross of Merit), the highest civilian honor from the German government, in recognition of his 25 years of humanitarian work in Nepal.
Dr Drews and his spouse, Silke Drews, will officially receive the medals on May 22 in a ceremony hosted by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
A resident of Grimma, Germany, Dr Drews first visited Nepal in 1992 and was deeply moved by the state of healthcare facilities in the country. Determined to help, he established Nepalmed Foundation in 2000, which has since supported numerous rural hospitals and health posts in Nepal-logistically, financially, and academically.
Under his leadership, Nepalmed has funded infrastructure upgrades, built roads to improve hospital access, provided essential medical equipment, supported government health insurance programs, and facilitated international training for Nepali medical professionals. Hospitals like Amppipal in Gorkha and health posts in Solukhumbu and Okhaldhunga have seen significant transformation through Nepalmed's support.
Dr Drews, who continues to practice medicine in Germany, also raises funds through his writing. He has published eight Nepal-based detective novels in German, with proceeds going to Nepalmed projects. Several of these books have been translated into Nepali.
In 2023, Dr Drews became the first non-Nepali recipient of the Swasthya Khabar Award, further acknowledging his longstanding contributions to Nepal's public health sector.
