The COVID-19 Crisis in Nepal: Coping Crackdown Challenges

Following the WHO’s declaration that COVID-19 was a pandemic, the government of Nepal made several decisions, including a lockdown, designed to prevent and reduce the impacts of the coronavirus by breaking the chain of infection. The lockdown has caused not only a shortage of essential supplies but also a price hike. In addition, it has put daily wage labourers, squatters, and poor and marginalized sections of the population at risk. This study had four interconnected objectives: (i) to assess existing policy provisions for relief management and distribution, (ii) to identify existing relief distribution mechanisms, (iii) to identify major gaps and challenges, and (iv) explore next steps and make recommendations. For secondary information, the study reviewed published documents, including government policies at the national and global levels, whereas primary information was gathered through virtual interviews and conferences with key informants in all provincial governments and in a few local governments. Among the mechanisms governments use to manage relief distribution are the management of relief funds, the selection of needy families, the development and distribution of relief packages, the adoption of a one-door policy, and the application of existing legal provisions. This study also explored gaps in these mechanisms and challenges faced during the relief management thoroughly. Some issues that raised questions included the criteria for selection and even the use of a targeted approach in principle and challenges included the procurement of relief materials and their quality and quantity as well as data management and monitoring. Once the data was on the table, this study made several key recommendations to each of the three tiers of Nepal’s government about how to systematize relief management now as well as how to carry over good practices into the future.