An Update on the Political, Social, and Economic State of Nepal
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge negative impact on the economy, politics and everyday lives of Nepali people. Much of Nepal’s economy depends upon remittances from Nepali workers abroad and tourism, and both came to a screeching halt with the pandemic. Tourism suffered an astounding 80% drop, causing many to lose their jobs and homes.
Nepal went into a severe lockdown last year from March through July in response to the pandemic. Aside from enforcing these lockdowns, the government has done little to help its citizens. It has not educated people about protection from the virus or financially helped those people who lost jobs and are unable to feed their families. Contact tracing and testing have been minimal. Although the death toll and rate of infection from COVID-19 do not seem to be high (2,776 deaths), these statistics likely are unreliable, and true estimates of the disease burden are not known.
The streets of Kathmandu, normally crowded and busy as shown here, have been empty and deserted throughout much of the pandemic
Recently, Nepal has re-opened as if there is no pandemic at all. The streets are again full of people, transportation is packed, and pollution levels appear to be rising again. Schools are reopening and even mask wearing is not followed. Vaccines are beginning to arrive from India, but it is unknown how many people will get them.
Nepal is also in the midst of another political crisis in which factions of the ruling communist parties are in conflict and mass demonstrations and economic instability are present every day with shortages and inflation on petrol and food products. Despite a large majority, the prime minister, KP Sharma Oli, dissolved Nepal’s parliament in December and called for early elections. This was viewed as a bid to renege on a communist party power-sharing agreement with a rival coalition of Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, former prime ministers. The dissolution sparked a series of protest rallies organized by groups from across the political spectrum including the opposition Nepali Congress party and civil society activists with tens of thousands turning out. There are seven parties with seats in parliament and mass rallies have interrupted everyday life. The Supreme Court of Nepal recently ruled on the dissolution unconstitutional and ordered the reinstatement of parliament and no upcoming elections. However, the conflict is still unresolved and the situation is tenuous.
There have also been unfortunate social repercussions from the pandemic. The New York Times reports that child marriages have likely increased and these situations have been made much worse by COVID-19. Child marriage rates are increasing at alarming levels, while girls and the whole nation is kept out of school and the country has sunk into economic hardship. Child brides are often at increased risk for death during childbirth, and most are not able to attend school or seek any professional ambitions after getting married. During the pandemic, there are worries that children will be forced into these marriages or that, with no clear end in sight, girls will choose this instead their only way forward. Reports say that the rates of these marriages, which are often never registered, have doubled or tripled.
We are distributing emergency kits and much needed supplies to our most at-risk families. Children are also receiving school supplies and lessons to keep them learning while schools are shut down
Recently, however, Nepalis are again starting to leave the country for work in other countries, and as usual they will face the same dangers in doing so. For example, in the last decade, over 1,600 Nepalis lost their lives in Qatar working largely in construction jobs. Deaths and disappearances and poverty often result from unskilled Nepalis working abroad. Efforts to increase tourism are also being made by making it easier to travel to Nepal this spring when climbing Mt. Everest is the most popular, hopefully making for an economic boost that will help get more people back to work. Nevertheless, predictions for the economy are not good as GDP grew a mere 2.3% last year, and growth is expected to be even lower this year at 1.5% according to the Asian Development Bank. The pandemic has just pushed Nepal back years in its economic progress, a country that has known many setbacks recently such as the earthquake and the Indian blockade in 2015 and 2016.
— Dr. Christine Schutz, Executive Director and Founder
Source: “In Nepal and Across the World, Child Marriage Is Rising” accessible here: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/world/asia/child-marriage-nepal-covid19.html