Bonita Sharma is a public health and nutrition activist from Nepal. She is the Co-founder and CEO of Social Changemakers and Innovators (SOCHAI), a youth-led nonprofit working to improve health and nutrition outcomes for women, children, and girls in Nepal. 

Bonita has developed innovative tools such as the wearable Nutribeads, Redcycle, and the Anti-Anemia bracelet through SOCHAI which have received widespread recognition, including UNICEF’s Asia Pacific Youth Innovation Award. Her work has also been featured by CNBC, UNESCO, and UNDP. In addition, these innovative tools have been integrated into nutrition and menstrual health programs implemented by the Nepal government and several other civil society organizations. 

With a strong background in community engagement, Bonita has worked closely with grassroots groups, schools, health workers, and local governments to co-design and deliver health and nutrition interventions that are context-specific and inclusive. Her approach emphasizes capacitating youth and marginalized communities to lead change from within. 

In recognition of her impact, Bonita was named one of the BBC’s 100 Most Influential Women in 2019 and received the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers Progress Award in 2020. 

She has served on the Bagmati Province Nutrition and Food Security Steering Committee of the Government of Nepal and is a member of the Lancet Commission’s Advisory Group on Evidence-Based Implementation in Global Health. 

Bonita is also the Co-founder of Youth-Led SRHR Advocacy Nepal (YoSHAN), a feminist organization advocating for sexual and reproductive health and rights as fundamental human rights.