Bibek Karki

Born and raised in Nepal, Bibek Karki has spent the last several years leading and organizing several programs for the Nepali diaspora. Approximately, 10,000 Nepali students and professionals come to America annually for higher education. Serving on the board of a global Nepali youth movement, Karki co-led the “Walk for Nepal” walkathon in 2011. Additionally, he has collaborated with Nepali doctors and engineers to create Okhati Inc., a program that aims to enhance health care services in rural Nepal by utilizing the information and communications technology infrastructure.

Karki’s passion was inspired by childhood visits to his grandparents’ house. Travel to their village in Bhojpur, Nepal, which was inaccessible by road and had no hospital or source of clean drinking water, required two days of hiking. When his grandmother developed lung cancer, and his grandfather, gallstones, they had to relocate to an urban hospital. Karki hopes in the next five years to implement and expand his Okhati project, creating a sustainable model of rural health care delivery in his homeland. “For me to effectively lead and execute this project, I need to have a better understanding of public health and the health care systems,” says Karki. “The MBA/MPH program at Johns Hopkins will provide me with a strong foundation in both population health and health care management.”