Hospitals fail to cope with the outbreak of Covid-19 patients

The second wave of COVID-19 pandemic has hit Nepal with a dramatic resurgence of new cases. This comes at a time when the country faces limited human resources and supplies.

Today, Nepal’s fragile health system is in a race against time and needs urgent help to treat patients and respond to the growing number of cases.

The new wave of COVID-19 is exceptionally high and follows a sudden and unprecedented spike in new cases in India since the beginning of April 2021. With 514.216 cases and 8.558 deaths related to COVID-19, the health care system is under tremendous stress. As of today, hospitals can accommodate patients seeking medical treatment, however health institutions are still critically lacking essential equipment. Due to the significant increase in cases that occurred in May, public hospitals are facing a severe shortage of oxygen and medical equipment. Oxygen supplies, ventilators, protective equipment, COVID-19 test kits, and medicines are among the most urgent needs at the moment.

The most vulnerable are already heavily affected by this new wave and the resulting restrictions, such as lockdowns. In Nepal, the vast majority of the population depends on daily wages: millions of Nepalese workers cross the border into India seeking seasonal employment opportunities every year.

Thus, the lack of diagnostic tests (antigen and PCR) reduces the ability to detect potential cases, especially in border areas, where the need is high. In addition, every year, devastating floods triggered by continuous rainfall cut off roads and entire villages from the outside world and disrupt transportation and communication networks. The impact of rain, landslide, and flood is getting more apparent across the country, already affecting inner villages and health facilities.

Our teams intervene in health centers and among local communities. Since March 2020, Action Against Hunger has been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal through a multi-sectoral response, including health and nutrition, food security, and access to safe water in East and West Nawalparasi, where access to the population is still possible. However, the situation remains very fragile and can deteriorate at any time. Therefore, there is an urgent need to expand the humanitarian response to support the local health system and protect the population.

Action Against Hunger’s intervention in Nepal started in 2005 with a focus on addressing the health and nutrition needs of the conflict-affected population. The 2015 massive earthquake in Nepal led to scaling up of the work in the country to 5 of the 14 most affected districts. Today, Action Against Hunger implements multiple programs to treat and prevent all forms of undernutrition.