NEST Response to Covid-19 Crisis
“Envisioning after Covid-19 crisis”
Overall impact
The Covid-19 crisis has increased challenges for several people towards risky employment situations including migrant workers their families, informal labors, daily wage workers, small businesses and vulnerable communities due to potential loss of employment, debt obligations, travel restrictions, inflation, and water and food and shortages. For example, the denial of funeral sites Covid-19 victims. There was a sharp increase in suicide and murders of women within the lockdown period including other violent crimes.
Economic
The impact of the pandemic, and in particular its economic consequences has increased the risk of worsening of peoples’ quality of lives, mental-wellbeing, community protection and positive peace over the next few years. It will effect on the how the prosperity campaign of the Government of Nepal and it severely effect standing–up from the great pause. The pandemic will severely deteriorate country’s economic capacity to create jobs and employment opportunities.
Conflict
Therefore, it is very important to have a better understanding of what future potential risks and fragilities will face in future. It is disrupting in building positive peace and social harmony leading to a sharp rising in community unrest, community conflicts within and will rise over the pandemic period. This includes both violent and non-violent protests demonstrations, resistance and riots. For example, there was a clashes between the community people and local government in managing funeral sites in Pokhara and Gorkha.
The need of building community resilient
Pandemic is now but nobody knows - when it will end? And how it will end? Therefore, it is very much important to design activities in support of the socio-economic recovery of the marginalized groups, vulnerable communities and those who hit hardest. For, this, NEST has been seeking cooperation, coordination and collaboration with government and non-government agencies, national and international development partners and oversee the strategic planning of activities in support of the project goals and objectives.
Covid-19 response and recovery feasibility
In the context of the recovery of the COVID-19 crisis in socio-economic and livelihood sector, it has provided an opportunity to examine existing inequalities in the socio-economic sector and unfair social discrimination and roles. Subsequently, it also has offered an opportunity to build a post-crisis society that offers better and more equal opportunities in the socio-economic sector and gives better chance to shape an inclusive, prosperous, sustainable and peaceful country for girls and boys and for women and men, and for all of us.
In order to challenge this current hardship, NEST fully adopts the principle of ‘Leaving No One Behind’ activities which will be focus on socio-economic support to the most vulnerable groups of the population and those most severely impacted by the outbreak and its related economic slowdown.
Collaboration, cooperation, coordination and partnership
At this difficult time, NEST as a development partner, has been seeking opportunity to collaborate and to work together with government, national and international development partners, civil society, and private sectors to reach, to challenge and to equip vulnerable people in support of short, medium and long-term socio-economic recovery efforts and resilient and inclusive development.
Socio-economic recovery is a complex problem that requires multi-disciplinary solutions with many stakeholders. Millions of people are vulnerable due to poverty, Covid-19 crisis and a lack of employment and opportunity. The Government of Nepal is doing a series of measures to address the current hardship situation. But, in order to do more, national and international solidarity is required to ensure that Nepal is fully prepared to tackle the crisis and address its impact in all sectors. Because, pandemic victims, marginalized and disadvantaged groups and people living under poverty line lack the resources they need to help them recover from the crisis.
NEST Response to Covid-19 Crisis