completed · Disaster Risk· Health
COVID-19 Response Nepal - 2021
As the number of COVID-19 cases in Nepal rapidly increased in April and early May, the nation’s public health system quickly reached its limits. Hospital beds are currently in short or supply in health facilities across the country, and facilities are facing critical shortages of life-saving oxygen, other critical medical supplies, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Prospects for rapidly increasing supply have been hampered by the India’s moratorium on exports of critical medical supplies and lockdown measures imposed by the Government of Nepal in the face of the country’s second wave, including a nearly full moratorium on international flights, which has reduced options for transporting medical supplies into the country. In addition to driving a spike in morbidity, the rise in COVID-19 cases in Nepal and in neighboring India, is also expected to have a strong negative impact on the ability of Nepali’s ability to address their basic needs. Within Nepal, GoN lockdown measures imposed on April 29 and currently in force have severally limited the function of markets and transportation of agricultural production and other goods, and disrupted informal economic activities on which a large portion of the population depends. At the same time, migrant workers are returning to Nepal from India having lost their primary source—and in many cases, only source—of income. Caritas Nepal (CN) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Nepal expect to support 1-2 under-resourced government or community-funded hospitals in several districts. As supplies are procured, CN/CRS will apply a targeting criteria based on bed occupancy, stock-out of supplies and municipal caseload to target activities to areas most in-need. With the majority of arriving aid currently being focused in the Kathmandu Valley, CN/CRS expects to initially prioritize districts outside the valley. CN/CRS will also distribute home isolation kits and provide awareness raising messages.
Overview
About this project
As the number of COVID-19 cases in Nepal rapidly increased in April and early May, the nation’s public health system quickly reached its limits. Hospital beds are currently in short or supply in health facilities across the country, and facilities are facing critical shortages of life-saving oxygen, other critical medical supplies, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Prospects for rapidly increasing supply have been hampered by the India’s moratorium on exports of critical medical supplies and lockdown measures imposed by the Government of Nepal in the face of the country’s second wave, including a nearly full moratorium on international flights, which has reduced options for transporting medical supplies into the country. In addition to driving a spike in morbidity, the rise in COVID-19 cases in Nepal and in neighboring India, is also expected to have a strong negative impact on the ability of Nepali’s ability to address their basic needs. Within Nepal, GoN lockdown measures imposed on April 29 and currently in force have severally limited the function of markets and transportation of agricultural production and other goods, and disrupted informal economic activities on which a large portion of the population depends. At the same time, migrant workers are returning to Nepal from India having lost their primary source—and in many cases, only source—of income. Caritas Nepal (CN) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Nepal expect to support 1-2 under-resourced government or community-funded hospitals in several districts. As supplies are procured, CN/CRS will apply a targeting criteria based on bed occupancy, stock-out of supplies and municipal caseload to target activities to areas most in-need. With the majority of arriving aid currently being focused in the Kathmandu Valley, CN/CRS expects to initially prioritize districts outside the valley. CN/CRS will also distribute home isolation kits and provide awareness raising messages.
Progress
0%- Plan
- Implementation
- Outcomes
Alignment