<figure><img width="1440" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121156/636ce7419c7e80680e0967b2jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: UNICEF NEPAL</figcaption></figure>Just over a year of living with the pandemic, Nepalis were just starting to get back on their feet, their income and nutrition status was improving, when <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-locks-down-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">another lockdown was announced this week</a> to contain the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/unmasking-the-second-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">second wave</a>.According to the latest round of the nationwide poll, the loss of jobs and livelihoods was down from 61% in July and 55% in May 2020 to 19% in January. However, 40% of Nepali households are at risk of falling back into poverty with earnings less than Rs10,000 per month.The recovery however is uneven, families where members have lost jobs, that have persons with disabilities and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-survive-pandemic-economy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">headed by the females</a> are earning none or less than 10K. <figure><img width="1318" height="1070" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121156/636ce7439c7e80680e0967b3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>All graphs: UNICEF and SHARECAST INITIATIVE</figcaption></figure><img width="2194" height="1078" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121156/636ce7469c7e80680e0967b4jpeg.jpg" alt="">This was the sixth in a series of periodic household surveys conducted by Sharecast Initiative Nepal on behalf of UNICEF to track the socio-economic multi-sectoral impact of Covid-19 on children and families in Nepal, and was conducted before the current surge. Nepali Times has been tracking the outcomes of these surveys which were previously conducted in May, July, August and October and December.The latest survey in December also found out that 97% of the children were going to school with 89% of them taking classes online. Only 5% were being homeschooled. Bagmati and Gandaki provinces had most schools offering distance learning facilities.  Even as more parents gain confidence to send their children back to physical classrooms, up to 61% from as low as 38% back in October, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/learning-during-the-pandemic-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">remote learning will continue to be the norm</a> as schools close again following the latest surge in new cases and the new lockdowns from Thursday in 10 of the most populous districts, including Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur.  <figure><img width="856" height="1054" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121156/636ce7499c7e80680e0967b5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Increase in parents' confidence levels to send their children back to physical classrooms.</figcaption></figure>In another decreasing tread, only 8% of households reported not getting <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/quarter-of-nepalis-still-hungry-during-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sufficient food</a> in January down from 19% back in<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/1-in-5-nepal-families-lack-food/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> August 2020</a>. The improvement is visible across all income groups, but less so for those in lower quantiles.On the nutrition front, 6% of respondents reported that their children were eating only 2 meals a day. These are mainly families struggling for food, with job losses, or from lower-income groups.Another 70% said their children were eating three meals a day, and a quarter of families said they could afford more than 3 meals a day. <img width="2398" height="1056" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121156/636ce74c9c7e80680e0967b6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="980" height="968" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121156/636ce74f9c7e80680e0967b7jpeg.jpg" alt="">How are Nepali families doing in terms of <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/free-soap-to-fight-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">safety measures against Covid-19?</a>The survey showed that 52% practised handwashing for 20 seconds or more all the time. Only 37% wore a mask in public at all times while only 10% practised 2m safe distancing every time they were out. Province 2 respondents scored lowest on all the fronts.There is a decreasing trend in the share of respondents reporting all the time or most of the time, with increases in those saying 'rarely' and 'never'. Lack of infrastructure and jobs were the main reasons given for not being able to practise protective measures. <img width="1050" height="970" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121156/636ce7519c7e80680e0967b8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/in-nepal-lockdown-a-domestic-violence-spike/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Violence against women and children</a> on the other hand has steadily picked up with 6% witnessing violence against women and/or children in January.Interestingly, the top income group is the most likely to witness domestic violence against women while the lowest two income groups are more prone to abandon a child.Some 6%of respondents also noticed or heard of children being trafficked, the number went up to 26% with regards to child marriage and 6% for child labour or migration. Respondents from Province 2 were most likely to report all three.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-economic-downturn-1-year-after-lockdown/">Nepal’s economic downturn, 1 year after lockdown</a>, Ramesh Kumar

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New Nepal lockdown may cancel gains

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5539c7e80680e0736bbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1232" height="691"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>A survey of Nepal’s children during the lockdown has confirmed what experts had feared – that there has been an adverse impact on education and nutrition for a majority of them.More than half the families polled reported a loss of jobs or earnings, and this resulted in one-third of the households facing shortages of food, medicines and other necessities.This has impacted children within those households most directly, according to the first of a monthly tracking poll conducted nationwide by <a href="https://www.unicef.org/nepal/sites/unicef.org.nepal/files/2020-08/UNICEF%20Child%20and%20Family%20Tracker%20Survey.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.unicef.org/nepal/sites/unicef.org.nepal/files/2020-08/UNICEF%2520Child%2520and%2520Family%2520Tracker%2520Survey.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597041203631000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGo2GmsIcJifQwp6zpDl4nROHaGhw">UNICEF Nepal</a> and <a href="https://www.sharecast.org.np/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sharecast.org.np/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597041203631000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEKj_ojDQ7aoqzexOM0-k93e6VWwg">Sharecast Initiative</a> at the end of May.Because more than two months have passed since the poll was taken, the situation for Nepal’s children is likely to be even more precarious. Some 7,500 households with at least one child was covered in the survey – more than 70% of them engaged in agriculture and a quarter with salaried jobs.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5569c7e80680e0736bcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1220" height="691"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Province 2 reported the highest rates (77%) of job and earnings losses, and those whose incomes were most affected by the COVID-19 lockdown lived in sub-metropolitan cities. People living in big cities and in Gandaki Province were less affected by the lockdown.This is sure to mean that the pandemic and the lockdown is widening already skewed income disparities within Nepal. Those earning less than Rs20,000 a month were the ones whose livelihoods have been most adversely impacted by the impact of the pandemic on the economy.Households facing the brunt of this income loss reported shortages of food, medicines, fuel and other essentials. Since the survey was conducted in May, many households were already low on food, and there were supply chain disruptions. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/high-risk-remittance/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/high-risk-remittance/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597041203631000&amp;usg=AFQjCNExiQa1A5as__NPWZT6xxO45hciig">Remittances from Nepali abroad fell by half</a> in April, compared to the same month last year.“The survey was done in the early stages of the lockdown, so we expect the impact to be greater now,” says Madhu Acharya of Sharecast Initiative that conducted the survey.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5589c7e80680e0736bdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1261" height="607"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Although 64% of those surveyed said they were not suffering any shortages, rural respondents in Sudurpaschim and Province 2 reported the most food shortages. The shortages were manifested in families not being able to afford meat, eggs, dairy products, and some vegetables. This is expected to increase malnutrition among Nepali children under five, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nearly-half-of-nepali-children-still-malnourished/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nearly-half-of-nepali-children-still-malnourished/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597041203631000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG5yDD3eoaiEaLZ7WwB4QofCnI1Jg">43% of whom were already malnourished.</a>More than half the children in Karnali Province are stunted because of insufficient nutrition. Many of the most vulnerable children who were getting in school meals have not been able to go to school for the past five months and have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-out-of-school-children-get-food-at-home/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-out-of-school-children-get-food-at-home/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597041203631000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG5tSrVm9ytGDAOD5UQYEULWR1SOA">missing out on supplemental nutrition</a>.One in every five household polled in the survey in May said their children were getting a reduced variety and smaller portions in fewer meals. Understandably, the reduction in food intake was highest in households with lowest incomes – one-third of them said their children were getting less food.Some 18% of mothers said they were breastfeeding more to compensate for reduced food intake of their small children, with the numbers much higher (32-34%) in Sudurpaschim and Karnali Provinces.Some 16% of breasting mothers of children under two from the poorest families reported that they were eating less, even though 90% of Nepali mothers said they were breastfeeding their children.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba55b9c7e80680e0736bejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1238" height="652"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>UNICEF says that although some of these changes could be related to existing pre-monsoon shortages, it warns that the response of households to reduce food intake in children is worrying.The survey shows that in May most families had been coping by digging into their savings (better off families), or by borrowing money from friends and relatives (poorer households).Preliminery government statistics show that there has been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/children-are-collateral-damage-in-nepal-lockdown/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/children-are-collateral-damage-in-nepal-lockdown/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597041203631000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG9CTMVDT2NWEjU0J5AJwHpS9VRuw">a 30% increase in the number of under-fives who have died</a> in the March-April-June this year compared to the same three months last year – mainly due lack of transport to take sick children to hospital, or reluctance to seek medical attention because of the fear of the virus.The survey found that although 83% of pregnant women had access to ante-natal care, the figure was much lower for Province 2 (74%). Disaggregating that data by ethnicity, it was found that only half the Tarai Brahmin mothers polled had health checkups during their pregnancy in May. Surprisingly, the figure for Tarai Dalits was a much higher 77%.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba55e9c7e80680e0736bfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1233" height="680"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Perhaps the most serious impact of the lockdown has been on education. Even in May, 95% of households said their children had stopped going to school, and 52% were not even studying at home. O<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/digital-divide-exposes-class-divide-in-nepal-schools/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/digital-divide-exposes-class-divide-in-nepal-schools/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597041203631000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEUD9JnlY3pwhqxNosy9-vm1futCQ">nly 29% had access to distance learning</a>, but that only half were using it.That means only about 12% of Nepali children are taking classes online, or through radio/tv. Even here, the disparity is stark: while up to a third of children in higher income households were using distance learning tools, only 5% in poorer families were doing so.“The continued loss of access to education in low income families might have irreversible negative effects on the country’s economy and adversely affect the potential of the country to ensure equitable and sustainable development,” UNICEF concludes.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5619c7e80680e0736c0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1259" height="706"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The more positive aspect of the survey results is that there is high level of awareness about the way in which COVID-19 is transmitted, and most families appeared to be taking the necessary precautions.More than 93% knew how the coronavirus spread, what preventive measures to take and most said they were washing hands frequently with soap, staying at home, and wearing masks when outside. This means preventive measures against SARS-CoV-2 could also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/prevention-while-searching-for-a-cure/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/prevention-while-searching-for-a-cure/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597041203631000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEl2beu0G5Dd2ZkbXxsSXNNMYqUjg">protect Nepalis from other prevalent infections</a> like diarrhea, typhoid, tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases.The household members told enumerators they got most of their information about the disease from radio (82%), from family and friends (72%), mobile ring tone (38%) and ward officials.More results of the UNICEF-Sharecast report <a href="https://www.unicef.org/nepal/sites/unicef.org.nepal/files/2020-08/UNICEF%20Child%20and%20Family%20Tracker%20Survey.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.unicef.org/nepal/sites/unicef.org.nepal/files/2020-08/UNICEF%2520Child%2520and%2520Family%2520Tracker%2520Survey.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1597041203631000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGo2GmsIcJifQwp6zpDl4nROHaGhw">here.</a>

COVID-19 impact on food and school in Nepali children

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New Nepal lockdown may cancel gains

COVID-19 impact on food and school in Nepali children