Chupal Sangpo

Chusang educating rural Tibetan pastoral community members about HIV/AIDS and other STIs.

Chupal Sangpo (Chusang) is a pioneering advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness inside Tibet. Born in a pastoral family in Drango, Tibet, he has long worked with and for Tibetan community leaders to form the first Tibetan AIDS Association. His growing team is dedicated to raising awareness on the nature and spread of HIV/AIDS, other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and many other public health issues. Chusang has taken his vital, life-saving messages across the vast expanse of Tibet - visiting schools, remote villages, and small towns, some of which are located in the most remote and underserved regions of Tibet. Chusang has also published numerous bilingual health pamphlets, brochures, and a book. Chusang believes in spreading public health messages in a form and manner that local communities can receive and adopt. He uses the multi-stakeholder approach to combine and leverage the unique strengths of many partners with the goal of bringing the necessary changes to improve community health by eliminating disparities in access. Every day, Chusang connects with his growing audience of over 100,000 Tibetans on social media, answering the many questions that constantly emerge. Over the years, he has also created and launched a training program for hundreds of team members and volunteers to carry this work forward in a more systematic way.  Their work has expanded to include hospice care and more.  Since the start of the global pandemic in 2020, Chusang and his team have added the dimension of public education on Covid19 and keeping communities safe.  In 2014, Chusang traveled to Machik’s Chungba Primary and Middle Schools to educate the first class of high school graduates from this rural community.  In 2015, Chusang was the Machik Global Innovation Fellow and spoke at Harvard University, met with HIV/AIDS specialists in the USA and delivered the Keynote address at Machik Weekend at the Leitner Center at Fordham University in New York City.

Chusang trained hundreds of Tibetan public health educators.

Chusang & team reach remote areas with limited healthcare.

Through snow & rain & summer sun, Chusang and his team deliver public health education to rural Tibetan communities.

As a Machik Global Innovation Fellow, Chusang presented his work to health professionals & students at Harvard University.