Nepal is in the midst of three-week-long nationwide lockdown. The draconian measure was adopted to contain the spread of COVID-19 that has so far killed over one hundred thousand people across the world. Fortunately, Nepal has fared better in the entire South Asian region when it comes to coping with the coronavirus. There are now only nine cases of COVID-19. Given the dearth of advanced medical facilities and human resources, the enforcement of the lockdown has remained the best option for the country to battle the deadly virus. The situation can be horrible if the virus spreads to the local community on a large scale. Thanks to the multiple measures, the nation has been able to limit the number of infections to a single digit to date. This gives a hope that the pandemic is unlikely to strike down the larger populace. Nonetheless, this does now allow us to be complacent as the risks of the virus transmission runs high owing to the open border with the southern neighbour and those unintended lapses made in the initial days of infection.
Even if there is the reason to be content with ongoing steps aimed at preventing the transmission of the contagion, the three-week lockdown is set to put enormous stress on the national economy. Its repercussions have already been felt. Many daily wage earners have lost their sources of income. Most of the labourers come from informal sector and lack social security scheme. They used to live a hand-to-mouth existence and tighten their belt even during the normal economic situation. The lockdown has made their life unbearable and precarious. After losing their livelihoods, many of them left Kathmandu at night and headed towards their home districts, imperilling their life and health. They are the immediate losers of virus-induced economic turnaround. But the country is bracing for the worse macro-economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. This requires that robust socio-economic measures are taken to reduce the negative impact of the deadly virus. The government has looked to the development partners to weather the looming economic recession.
The other day, the Ministry of Finance held a video conference on 'coronavirus effects on Nepali economy and livelihood' participated in by high level officials from different multi-lateral agencies. Finance Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada called for global efforts, partnership and cooperation while stressing the national efforts to solve the problem. It is timely move to muster the support of donor agencies as the government alone can’t address the looming recession based on its internal resources and traditional assistance policy and programmes. The donors need to consider the request for the extension of the timeline for paying the interest of the foreign loan as well as waiver of the loan assistance so as to channel the foreign aid into building the physical infrastructures for health sector and revamping the national economy. In a positive development, the donors have agreed to support the government through their participation in a facilitation committee that will mobilise the external resources in the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, according to a news report of this daily. They have hailed the government’s initiatives to keep the pandemic breakout at bay. Their support is likely to create a synergic force against the transmission of the virus.