Dr. Shankar Man Rai, a world-renowned expert at repairing clefts and burn injuries, has helped transform more than 23,000 lives since 1999. He has also helped thousands of children in rural Nepal heal their speech impediments through the ReSurge speech therapy camps he founded.
In 1999, Shankar established the first ReSurge Surgical Outreach Program. With the success of his outreach pilot program, he began meeting with ReSurge partners from other low-income countries, sharing his experience and model. Now, more than 90 percent of all ReSurge surgeries are performed by local surgeons like Shankar, in their own countries. He also created the first medical residency program in Nepal’s history in the specialty of plastic reconstructive surgery, resulting in a new generation of surgeons to treat the poor of his country. Today, his team also operates five rural outreach centers, bringing care directly to communities that would otherwise have to travel for treatment.
Shankar was born in rural Nepal, about 100 miles from the nearest major road, to a poor farming family. He was the first in his family to reach his level of education. Soon after his general surgery training, he observed ReSurge volunteer doctors performing a cleft lip surgery in Kathmandu and decided that he wanted to do the same. After three years of plastic surgery training in the United States, he returned to Nepal to dedicate his knowledge and skill to helping others. Hear him tell this story in his own words on the Healthcare for Humans podcast.
His story is at the heart of SIMA, an award-wnning ReSurge International documentary short following a young burn survivor’s journey to reconstructive surgical care under his care. Watch the trailer and learn how to host a screening. He has also helped thousands of children in rural Nepal heal their speech impediments through the speech therapy camps he founded.
In 2004, the American Medical Association honored Shankar with its Nathan R. Davis Award in International Medicine and Public Health for his devotion and skill; he was the first doctor from a low-income country to receive this prize. In 2005, he received a World of Children award for his remarkable service. In April 2009, His Holiness the Dalai Lama honored Dr. Rai with his Unsung Heroes of Compassion Award.
Dr. Rai’s leadership shows most clearly in moments of crisis. In November 2023, an LPG gas cylinder explosion sparked a devastating fire near Itahari in eastern Nepal, leaving 26 people with severe burn injuries. Victims were airlifted more than 360 kilometers to Kirtipur Hospital, where Dr. Rai led the response — ultimately saving 20 lives, with 12 medical volunteers from institutions including the University of British Columbia and the University of Washington providing weeks of additional care. Read the full story of ReSurge’s rapid response. It’s this same reputation — the center has cared for more than 5,200 burn patients over 15 years and is renowned throughout Nepal for its burn care — that made Dr. Rai a central figure when The New York Times covered the toll of Nepal’s 2025 unrest on burn victims.
Dr. Rai’s hospital has also been the backdrop for national and international recognition. Kirtipur Hospital — home to the Nepal Cleft and Burn Center that Dr. Rai leads — was the filming location for ReSurge’s Closing the Gap campaign, produced pro bono with Ogilvy Health and Papaya Films. The campaign has since won a Bronze Effie Award (Nonprofit category, 2026 Effie Awards), a Bronze Clio Health Award (Health Awareness & Advocacy, 2026), and the Shorty Impact Award for Pro Bono Campaign (10th Annual Shorty Impact Awards, plus an Audience Honor in the same category) — and was featured at the 2025 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
