Dr. Dipendra Gautam is a National Professional Officer at WHO Health Emergencies Program, WHO Country Office for Nepal, and has been looking after International Health Regulations-2005, with a focus on pandemic preparedness, outbreak detection and response, health systems as they relate to global health security. He works in close coordination with the Ministry of Health and Population for preparedness and response readiness activities and has been involved to respond to several outbreaks, including influenza and the COVID-19. Furthermore, he is constantly engaged to strengthen the country's capacities to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to public health risks whether occurring naturally or due to deliberate or accidental events. Before joining WHO, he worked at the Government hospital as a clinician in the rural part of Nepal.