The Medical Councils play an important role in the development and promotion of relevant and quality medical education in their respective countries and thereby help safeguard the health of the population. They are responsible for maintaining standards of medical education at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. Further Councils are also responsible for defining and ensuring to minimum requirements before the physicians are given the license to practice medicine.

In many countries in the region medical education has not kept pace with advancing public health needs and challenges.
In October 2006, the first landmark regional meeting of the medical councils of the Region was organized by WHO Regional Office for South East Asia (SEARO) in Bhutan. This meeting was an eye opener to many representatives of the medical Councils of the Region who realized the need to have strong medical Councils to regulate professionals with an ultimate goal of providing good quality medical care. The meetings recommendation included establishing a Regional Network of Medical Councils in the SEA Region and organization of annual consultations of medical councils on priority topics.

Network of Medical Councils of WHO South East Asia was thus established with 11 members (Bangladesh, Bhutan, DPR-Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri-Lanka, Thailand, and Timor –Leste).
WHO/SEARO was identified as the secretariat for two years. In the second annual meeting held in Chiang Mai Thailand, in November 2008, Nepal Medical Council was entrusted the responsibility of the Secretariat of the Network of Medical Council.