<img width="2048" height="1282" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101144/63720e1d9c7e80680e0b78fcjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>While many countries <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-reopening-for-tourists/">lift mask mandates and coronavirus restrictions</a>, Hong Kong and China are reeling from an Omicrons surge. Britain, the US and some parts of Europe are seeing a new spike in cases. In Nepal, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/omnipresent-omicron-starts-to-lose-its-edge/">public is determined to believe</a> that the worst is over. But there is a danger that China's Omicron surge will bring out a new variant. Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health has urged all residents to avoid non-essential travel. The territory may soon impose a lockdown, just as China has isolated entire provinces. The surge in China and Hong Kong has been attributed to low natural immunity because of the zero-Covid strategy, the relative inefficacy of Chinese vaccines to Omicron, and the emergence of the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant.Meanwhile cases of a new hybrid strain that is as transmissible as Omicron and as serious as Delta, dubbed the 'Deltacron', has broken out in the United States and Europe.The WHO warned this week that the world is “only half-way” through the pandemic, and although news of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/ukraine-crisis-hits-nepal-economy-hard/">Russia’s invasion of Ukraine</a> has overshadowed Covid-19, the virus is still spreading in unpredictable ways.Given all this, it may be prudent for Nepal not to lift all vaccine restrictions just yet. Masks and avoiding crowds must still be enforced to spread a future surge. Even though, as we have seen in the last two years, new variants can easily come in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-on-high-alert-for-omicron/">from travelers and spread in the community</a>.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-story-of-nepals-first-covid-19-fatality/">The story of Nepal’s first COVID-19 fatality</a>, Laxmi BasnetA number of European countries have relaxed restrictions and several states of the US have moved to eliminate mask mandates after a new guideline by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The hope is that the pandemic is giving way to an endemic. An endemic has been described by the CDC as a ‘constant presence and/or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in a population within a geographic area’. "We're almost there, it is now the beginning of the end, at least in the UK," Prof Julian Hiscox at the University of Liverpool told the BBC recently. "I think life in 2022 will be almost back to before the pandemic.” CDC director Rochelle Walensky echoed this, saying earlier this year that the pandemic is likely to become endemic in the US and around the world. Virologist Ian Jones of the University of Reading in the UK also said recently: “There is now no doubt that Omicron is attenuated and taking as a step toward endemicity”. Medical historians argue that most pandemics last between two and a half to three and a half years. Without a clear explanation and vaccination, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/remembering-a-pandemic-100-years-ago/">1918 Spanish pandemic</a> that infected one-third of the world’s population and claimed over 50 million lives fizzled out in 1919. An analysis suggests that the Omicron variant has now changed the shape of the global pandemic and this is likely to lead to the 'endemic world'. Chris Murray of the University of Washington takes the fact that despite the surge in infections, hospitalisation and fatality rates are still low as indication that we are now entering an endemic phase.Stephen Kissler at the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health has been quoted as predicting: “Omicron will soon become endemic much like flu." Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/survive-revive-thrive/">Survive, revive, thrive</a>, EditorialWhat is puzzling scientists is why Hong Kong’s fatality rate is so high, while Omicron has not killed people at the same rate elsewhere. The risk of reinfection from Omicron is estimated to be 5–fold higher and this poses a danger to the high risk groups, elderly and to those not yet infected.Epidemiologists warn that the worst may yet to come of new variants emerge from the spread in China. Spreading to other parts of the world not yet infected to Omicron, this could have a devastating effect. Nevertheless, turning back the pages of the history of pandemics, we have seen that viruses naturally mutate and slowly evolve into an endemic phase that circulates at more manageable levels. The 1918 <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/preparing-for-a-no-normal/">influenza strain may never have disappeared, and continued to mutate and circulate</a> to this day. What we need to develop and adopt is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/why-is-there-vaccine-hesitancy-in-nepal/">sustainable coping strategies, including vaccinations</a>. What are critically missing and paying least attention to is social interventions such as behavioural change, communication for mask wearing and avoiding crowds for the near future.Medical historians also agree that the pandemic ends socially before it ends medically. And proof of that is Nepal, where mot people seem to think that they no long have to worry about the pandemic. What if the virus has decided not to enter an endemic phase just yet?Mohita Upreti is Journalism student at St. Xavier's College, she regularly contributes to the College’s monthly newsletter - The Xavierian Chronicles.Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/why-is-there-vaccine-hesitancy-in-nepal/">Why is there vaccine hesitancy in Nepal?</a> Sonia Awale

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From pandemic to epidemic to endemic

In 1966, the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/13-12-2019-who-commemorates-the-40th-anniversary-of-smallpox-eradication" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Health Organization (WHO)</a> launched a worldwide campaign to eradicate smallpox. The aim was ‘zeropox’ -- not just control of the disease, but its complete elimination.After an aggressive campaign run by Nepal's autocratic government, the country saw its last case ever in 1975. The program should be celebrated. But what should also not be forgotten is that it sometimes resorted to heavy handed methods. Balancing public safety and individual rights was not easy.Historically, smallpox had been one of the world's biggest and most terrifying killers. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-smallpox-virus-in-british-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">In South Asia, the disease attacked young adults and children</a>, those born since the previous epidemic, leaving many disfigured or blind. In Nepal in the 19th  century, smallpox left few communities unscathed, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/smallpox-politics-and-power-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">even killed a king</a>.In 1966, smallpox still plagued 31 countries, annually infecting 10-15 million people and killing 2 million. Two areas caused the most concern: the horn of Africa and South Asia, including Nepal.Part I: <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/big-story-of-small-pox-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Big story of smallpox in Nepal</a>Part II: <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-smallpox-virus-in-british-india/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The smallpox virus in British India</a>Part III: <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/smallpox-politics-and-power-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Smallpox, politics and power in Kathmandu</a>Part V: <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/viruses-past-present-and-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Viruses past, present and future</a>		
							<figure><img width="1282" height="1386" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022112916110/63861ea09c7e80680e0ccdd8jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Smallpox vaccination statue outside the World Health Organization headquarter entrance in Geneva.</figcaption></figure>Nepal, a WHO official wrote in the early 1960s, ‘must be considered as one of the areas most highly endemic for smallpox in South East Asia’. In 1958, a wave of smallpox hit Kathmandu. A 1965 survey revealed that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/big-story-of-small-pox-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">16% of the Valley's total population had struggled with the virus at some point in their lives</a>. Those were the ones the disease hadn't killed.Each year a few imported cases appeared in the western hills. Don Messerschmidt describes a late 1963 outbreak along the hulakibato in Lamjung, but the main problem areas were the Kathmandu Valley and the Tarai, particularly the eastern plains because of heavy cross-border movement.<a href="https://www.who.int/features/2010/smallpox/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WHO and the Nepal government launched a pilot program</a> in 1962 in Kathmandu Valley using new freeze dried vaccine, an improved version of the one Edward Jenner had devised in the 1790s, but got disappointing results.After two and a half years, only 30% of Valley residents were protected. WHO blamed ‘administrative problems and the religious and mundane objections of some sections of the population to vaccination’.In 1966, the program expanded countrywide, with new commitment and revised procedures, including better record keeping to prevent double counting. In 1971 the program started month-long mass vaccination campaigns. Each year for four straight years, several thousand temporary staff vaccinated 6 million Nepalis. Between 1967 and 1975, 39 million Nepalis got vaccinated or re-vaccinated.Another new strategy proved a game changer: aggressive surveillance and containment. Previously, officials had prioritised vaccinations. They had not traced and mapped infections, and thus did not know how many people had the virus and where. In 1971, a WHO official later wrote, ‘vigorous surveillance became the rule’.Surveillance meant routine house-to-house searches. Instead of waiting for cases to be reported, program workers went looking for them. Containment meant vaccinating and revaccinating the entire population near a newly discovered case. This was erring on the safe side by casting a broad net. The program also intensified tracing, detecting infection origins in a remarkable 95% of cases.The aggressive surveillance and containment methods delivered results. ‘It appeared that transmission had been interrupted,’ a WHO official noted later. Nepal had devised ‘a new and surprisingly effective tactic’.But then came a setback: ‘a tidal wave’ of new cases with nearly 2,000 new infections in 240 separate outbreaks. Three of every four of these cases were imports from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India where smallpox proved particularly recalcitrant. Of Nepal's 12 million population at the time, 90% lived within 100km of these Indian states.The program responded with more vaccination campaigns, surveillance, and containment, making steady progress. To address outbreaks in Morang the Nepal smallpox program in 1975 initiated a ‘watchdog’ system, a tactic recently devised in India. Staff were posted at the houses of infected people to ensure that they did not leave and that no unvaccinated person entered. Cash rewards were given to citizens and staff reporting new cases.In April 1975, Nepal saw its last case. A disease that had plagued Nepalis for centuries was gone. Looking back, WHO officials saw the surveillance and containment program as the key.‘The shift in strategy in 1971, laying great emphasis on surveillance-containment, was largely responsible for the success of the Smallpox Eradication Programme in Nepal,’ wrote the program's director in a 1977 wrap up report. ‘It is possible that transmission would have been interrupted earlier if the watchguard system had been adopted during 1974.’In many ways Nepal's eradication of smallpox was a heroic victory. The global smallpox program's director applauded Nepal's ‘remarkable accomplishments’. This narrative is not inaccurate but it is not the whole story.To begin with, smallpox eradication owed a great deal to biology. Compared to other diseases, smallpox was simply easier to eradicate. It was easy to see and diagnose (no asymptomatic infections) and did not re-infect people once gone. The disease's painful symptoms prevented movement, slowing transmission. Moreover, the vaccine was easy to administer and extremely effective. There was no virus reservoir among animals re-injecting the disease into human society again and again.Diseases like malaria and polio had far more natural advantages, and have proven much harder to eradicate globally.‘Without the particular characteristics of smallpox and the smallpox vaccine,’ historian Randall Packard has observed, ‘the disease would have been much more difficult to conquer, and the campaign would, in all likelihood, have failed. As it was, it only succeeded by the thinnest of margins.’One particular challenge was how to handle Nepalis who resisted vaccination. In the eastern Tarai, many people, particularly indigenous groups, held what a WHO report described as 'religious objections to vaccination’.WHO said this area became 'the scene of many problems of containment’. In Kathmandu, some Newar groups used to 'strongly object' to vaccination. In Kailali, some Tharus 'resisted vaccination for religious reasons'.Historian Susan Heydon notes that program workers often unjustifiably dismissed the concerns of Nepalis who resisted vaccination. Those who hesitated, she notes, were blamed as superstitious, derided as ‘backward and uneducated’.Instead, she faults the WHO program itself for not doing enough to educate the general population about the benefits of vaccination. She also notes that the program often administered vaccinations during hours next to impossible for ordinary working people.Eradication program workers also occasionally used unnecessary coercion. Coerced vaccinations were not common worldwide or in South Asia. But as historian Packard notes, there was a ‘tendency for aid workers to view themselves as somehow empowered to do whatever it takes to fulfill their mission, and to disregard local customs and laws’. In India and Bangladesh, historian Paul Greenough discovered that 'heavy-handed methods were sometimes relied upon'. On one occasion in Bihar in 1975, for example, health officials accompanied by police arrived at a tribal person's house by jeep at midnight, broke down the door, held down family members, and forcibly vaccinated them. Mandatory vaccinations and re-vaccinations as part of broad containment efforts sometimes sparked 'chaos' in villages.'Encounters with government vaccinators,' Greenough observes, were 'never about immunisation alone.' Religious, caste, and gender dynamics shaped interactions, as did ill will from previous health campaigns.One American health worker in India later recalled how a sense of unbridled self-righteousness led him to mistreat people. 'One of the rules was that everybody gets vaccinated. I was awful in my conviction of purity of purpose -- in breaking down doors and vaccinating crying women, etc.' To a large degree, the ends seemed to justify the means.Official reports, Greenough writes, often dismissed resistance and underreported coercion. He wishes there had been much more training for healthworkers and broader,more careful education for the public.In Nepal, one foreign smallpox fieldworker described how health workers sometimes had to search for Nepalis hiding from them in fear:‘... a good natured room to room search of houses with flashlights, accompanied by the village leader, would detect adults and children hiding under beds, in chests, large wicker baskets, and even in large clay storage vessels. However, the search was done as a game of hide and seek, with laughter after people were found and vaccinated, such as in one particular case where lifting the cover of a large wicker basket revealed two children hiding inside.’This may have been seemed like a game to health workers, but probably not to those Nepali men, women, and children with unknown government strangers searching for them. They seemed terrified.In the name of containing smallpox, a global health problem and an old scourge in Nepal, in the late 1960s and 1970s Nepal's government had tremendous authority to monitor and search Nepal's population. Maintaining public safety certainly justifies strong action, but the unnecessary infringement of individual rights and liberties must also be avoided as well.  This is the third in a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/big-story-of-small-pox-in-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/big-story-of-small-pox-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588753218027000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEp4BFSGiWvId09CsLCgnF31j8F-w">series of articles</a> about the history of disease in Nepal. The fifth installment will look at what Nepal can learn from past epidemics in dealing with this one.  <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/how-chitwan-was-opened,4159" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/how-chitwan-was-opened,4159&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1588753218027000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGtSUyejPwwFFhYdaZjZohWFJUIQw">Tom Robertson</a>, PhD, is researching the environmental history of Kathmandu Valley.

Tom Robertson

How Nepal eradicated the smallpox virus

Just three weeks in, Prime Minister Balendra Shah has already shed two ministers, and is having to contend with the economic fallout of the West Asia war plus the global order that it has upended.&nbsp;
The new dispensation in Nepal has aroused interest in New Delhi, Beijing as well as Washington. The ouster of Home Minister Sudan Gurung, whose first act in office was to arrest former prime minister K P Oli, has foreign policy wonks scratching their heads.
The US sent Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Samir Paul Kapur on a special mission to figure out what is happening in Kathmandu. In town at the same time was Cao Jing, Deputy Director General of the Asian Affairs Department of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And Prime Minister Shah is preparing for an official visit to India.
For the Americans, it is mostly about containing China and looking after the welfare of Tibetan refugees, while pushing its own MCC Compact and State Partnership Program (SSP). Beijing is mindful of the post-Dalai Lama era, and does not want instability in Nepal to encourage free-Tibet activities. India lately seems more wary of American activity in what it considers its backyard.
The Chinese appear relieved to see Sudan Gurung go. Only last week, Ambassador Zhang Maoming met Gurung during which he raised the issue of Tibetan and Taiwanese activities in Nepal, seeking firm commitment that Kathmandu would not harbour activities hostile to Beijing.
“Geographically we are close to Tibet and not to the Mainland, so China remains suspicious of us, especially after the TOB and free-Tibet components that emerged from the GenZ protests,” says geopolitical analyst Indra Adhikari.
Kapur, for his part, met RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle and Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal. Although investment and infrastructure was on the agenda, the main issue seems to have been about Tibetan refugees. In nearly parallel meetings with ministers, Cao Jing warned Nepal not to be too cosy with the Americans.
For Indian academic and Nepal watcher Sukh Deo Muni, all this harks back to American activity in Nepal during the height of the Cold War. He tweeted: ‘US senior diplomat Paul Kapur's statement in Kathmandu must be understood carefully in New Delhi. He said the US does not want China or any other country to dominate Nepal.’&nbsp;
‘Any other country’ could be a pointed reference to India, and what this means is that Nepal may now have to navigate even more carefully a tri-polar world order reshaped by the West Asia war.&nbsp;
Nepali journalist based in New Delhi Akanshya Shah agrees that the United States may not be seeing Nepal through the Indian lens anymore, while New Delhi does not want heightened US activity in what it considers its sphere of influence. All this is further complicated by recent frostiness in Washington-New Delhi ties.
“New Delhi doesn’t have that familiarity factor it used to with old leadership in Nepal, but it is curious about what the young Balen Shah will do and what kind of relation he will pursue with India,” she adds. “Certain decisions of the Balen government such as ending VIP culture and delivering passport at homes have hugely resonated with the Indian people, he has in some ways become a role model among the youth in India as well.”
India has invited Prime Minister Shah for an official state visit, which will be his first foreign trip as per tradition. Shah graduated in structural engineering from a college in Bengaluru, and knows India well. Shah has injected religious elements into his public exposure as prime minister and this could help project Nepal’s ‘soft power’ in dealing with India.
But he has also been a nationalist on the Limpiyadhura map dispute, and there are other thorny issues like air connectivity, river projects and power exports that need to be ironed out.&nbsp;
Sukh Deo Muni warns that the old Indian diplomatic approach based on religio-cultural stakeholders in Kathmandu may not work anymore. He wrote: ‘India's Modi government must prepare itself well to deal with new Nepalese leadership and their empowered support base, which is self-confident, highly nationalist, aspirant and impatient.’
The RSP’s 22-page National Commitment document said Nepal should abandon its historical ‘buffer state’ identity to serve as a ‘vibrant bridge’ between regional and global powers. Much of this debate is theoretical, and there is much navel-gazing that distracts from regional realpolitik.&nbsp;
“Whether we are a buffer state or a vibrant bridge, in today’s heightened geopolitical scenario we have to have good relations with good neighbours,” explains Akanshya Shah. “What is of paramount importance is that our ties are based on the aspirations of the young generation, so that they are engaged.”
Indra Adhikari goes as far as to say that the concepts of “buffer state” and “vibrant bridge” have both failed and Nepal is neither. “We have had zero roles in mediating or de-escalating the tensions between India and China to call ourselves a buffer state. As a vibrant bridge, we cannot facilitate trade of the two countries. The new government should have researched and consulted more before proposing the same outdated and failed foreign policy concepts.”&nbsp;
What will be much more important for Prime Minister Shah is to continue Nepal’s traditional policy of ‘equidistance’ and convince his interlocutors that it is not an anti-Indian stance.&nbsp;
“At a time when there is increased interest of big powers in Nepal, we need to do a bit of our own homework for the systemic reforms we want,” says Akanshya Shah. “As for India, we first need to clearly define what we want on connectivity, energy and culture. But most importantly, we have to capitalise on the goodwill of India which we haven’t been able to in the past.”
Adds Indra Adhikari: “When it comes to fundamental aspects of foreign policy that ensures and enhances the well being of our citizens, national parties should all have one unified voice that doesn’t change when the government does. Only then the future generations can own it.”

Love thy neighbours (and America)

Nepal is experiencing a worrying spread of dengue fever higher up into Himalayan valleys where the mosquito-borne disease was unknown until a few years ago.&nbsp; In 2025, 15 of the country’s 16 high-altitude districts reported infections, marking an unprecedented ascent of the vector and virus over 2,400m. A Tribhuvan University study has confirmed the presence of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes and their larvae, in Jumla (2,438m).&nbsp; In Solu Khumbu district, no systematic scientific research has yet been conducted, but dengue cases have been reported in patients without travel history, suggesting the presence of vectors at the base of Mt Everest as well.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_7f9b36514e85af9da5501f83b2d34c7bb12b01ae8e8e00317898938b47cf4544.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260425060412_7f9b36514e85af9da5501f83b2d34c7bb12b01ae8e8e00317898938b47cf4544" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Chandannath Municipality, 2,438m, in Jumla is the highest that the dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitos have been detected.</figcaption> </figure>  Until recently, Aedes mosquitoes had only been detected up to 2,100m. Over the past two years, however, dengue has spread across almost the entire country, affecting 76 of Nepal’s 77 districts in 2024 and 2025.&nbsp; The Epidemiology and Disease Control Division data shows 42,647 people were infected since January 2024, 19 of whom died. But the number of unreported infections is probably much higher. Scientists from the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC), in collaboration with the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, collected mosquito samples to analyse them and examine how they are adapting to warmer temperatures and &nbsp;resistance to insecticides. The specimens are carefully observed, photographed, and catalogued, allowing researchers to document patterns of survival, distribution, and resistance.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_cadd8a73f7f0bff79d174eea921dc6046f3a4f52a0cc34f3d4c2e12a8cc9ce29.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260425060412_cadd8a73f7f0bff79d174eea921dc6046f3a4f52a0cc34f3d4c2e12a8cc9ce29" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Santos Pandey, Pratima Bhandari and Sangita Chand examine dengue vector mosquitoes under a microscope at the NHRC laboratory in Kathmandu.The entomology unit uses stereomicroscopes to identify the subtle differences between the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitos. Differences in thoracic markings in the insects helps determine disease risk and guide surveillance and control strategies for dengue and other mosquito-borne illnesses.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_48b8ed502a8cc47da9c6e8c6bd856e7961ffc0e804174ff7fb190057a286c7b7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260425060412_48b8ed502a8cc47da9c6e8c6bd856e7961ffc0e804174ff7fb190057a286c7b7" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>A female Aedes aegypti mosquito under a microscope. Studying both larvae and adults to detect colour or shape variations may indicate insecticide resistance or adaptation to different altitudes. Each specimen is photographed for analysis and digital archiving.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_cdf3ecfc317963e228ab08134300f38d818f394046f085169a2be9f886a134c2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260425060412_cdf3ecfc317963e228ab08134300f38d818f394046f085169a2be9f886a134c2" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Sushila Devi Shah, 38, at the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital last year. She suffered severe muscle and eye pain, headache, and fever, the main symptoms of dengue. Complications can be serious if untreated.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_4a3ada611edf7551f76969b8ab2b7d7482aedacdfaec570c1024851c9bc57ccd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260425060412_4a3ada611edf7551f76969b8ab2b7d7482aedacdfaec570c1024851c9bc57ccd" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Shiva Rajbanshi of the NHRC captures mosquitos and larvae in a breeding site. This work helps assess mosquito distribution and guides prevention efforts in areas where rising temperatures allow mosquitoes to survive and proliferate.</figcaption> </figure>  Experts attribute the spread of dengue into Nepal’s mountainous regions primarily to global warming, which creates more favourable conditions for mosquito survival and reproduction, even in areas once considered at low or no risk. The dengue-carrying mosquito mainly bites in the early mornings and evenings when people are out and about. Increased mobility within Nepal with the spreading road network and greater international connectivity have also contributed to circulating the virus. As a result, dengue is reaching Himalayan communities with poor healthcare facilities.&nbsp; In these remote and hard-to-access areas, many residents continue to rely on traditional Tibetan medicine, known as Sowa Rigpa, practiced by traditional Amchi healers who enjoy strong cultural trust and have long served as key healthcare providers within local communities.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_fbd0e125f59b7c071a61f700d08f1e37409ecc647afa8ec888c0ed8a7fc991ce.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260425060412_fbd0e125f59b7c071a61f700d08f1e37409ecc647afa8ec888c0ed8a7fc991ce" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Jomsom at 2,743m has seen erratic and extreme weather patterns with dry months becoming drier, and the monsoon seeing intense storms in this arid region. Average temperatures are rising, creating favourable conditions for mosquito-borne diseases. In 2025, nine cases of dengue were reported in Mustang district.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_59398ee65a096665bb5c2c82b92de3443809673e6bdbe1405ee92b6886210cb7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260425060412_59398ee65a096665bb5c2c82b92de3443809673e6bdbe1405ee92b6886210cb7" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Khedup Loden Gurung checks a patient’s pulse in a clinic in Jomsom at 2,743m last year. Amchi are traditional Tibetan healers trained in Sowa Rigpa. Diagnosis is based on pulse reading (nad-par), visual examination of urine and tongue, and dialogue with the patient. Because Sowa Rigpa focuses on the individual’s overall energetic state rather than on specific pathogens, there is no direct equivalent to the biomedical concept of ‘dengue’.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_421aba7152f520b640016061901108a9b7755e0feff157e7585f4f3fd2eb2ca4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260425060412_421aba7152f520b640016061901108a9b7755e0feff157e7585f4f3fd2eb2ca4" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Handmade Sowa Rigpa herbal remedies crafted using traditional methods. After drying and processing, medicinal plants are ground by hand and combined according to precise traditional formulas. The mixtures are prepared into powders, pills, or pastes using simple tools and manual techniques passed down through generations. Before distribution, the medicines are ritually blessed.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_22970174d6ad5a7c192ec43d89eae0a8aed47ed77e9a670d85f1f473ddcfe136.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260425060412_22970174d6ad5a7c192ec43d89eae0a8aed47ed77e9a670d85f1f473ddcfe136" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Khedup Loden Gurung treats a young patient in a clinic in Jomsom. Rooted in Buddhist monastic culture, many amchis approach healing as an act of compassion and service, practicing medicine as a vocation rather than a commercial activity for profit.</figcaption> </figure>  Practiced across the Himalayan region and influenced by Indian Ayurveda and Buddhist philosophy, Sowa Rigpa combines clinical observation, herbal remedies, and a holistic view of health, in which body, mind, environment, and spiritual dimensions are deeply interconnected. To curb the spread of dengue, Nepal’s health authorities have a two-pronged prevention and awareness. Strategy involves using insect repellents and mosquito nets, proper household environmental management, and community campaigns to eliminate stagnant water and strengthen vector surveillance.&nbsp; The goal is to improve the capacity of communities to respond promptly to emerging health threats in a territory increasingly exposed to the impacts of climate change. Vaccines against the two main strains of dengue exist, but they are expensive and have side effects. Prevention and vector management are therefore the primary strategies available to combat dengue.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_4ca7d50a4edd99f2ac930a21794a9e9a42d070565bf0fc1d7254405f5bd2e329.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20260425060412_4ca7d50a4edd99f2ac930a21794a9e9a42d070565bf0fc1d7254405f5bd2e329" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Solukhumbu District Hospital at Phaplu, 2,413m. Hospitals in these highland areas work under challenging conditions, managing a range of health needs with the resources at hand.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_3e51b4047b04ce428a171efc1047a71d2e5cbe1dbf6dfe2738d2c8ac433fee05.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20260425060412_3e51b4047b04ce428a171efc1047a71d2e5cbe1dbf6dfe2738d2c8ac433fee05" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Bijay Singh Kushwaha collects sample blood from Nara Maya Khatri, 87, admitted with suspected dengue for a rapid diagnostic test. In recent years, such cases have become more familiar in the region, and the hospital is increasingly accustomed to managing them.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_61aa4750bf8948fce4ad2f2c1d80ca6d9849f58827c8232a2c3649c9d4c8b2c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20260425060412_61aa4750bf8948fce4ad2f2c1d80ca6d9849f58827c8232a2c3649c9d4c8b2c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Sunita Baral and her team work in the NHRC laboratory.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_2742b31fa889984e5c87c41c614a4b9d848fc41095ec1dd70d2b303ec29d8435.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20260425060412_2742b31fa889984e5c87c41c614a4b9d848fc41095ec1dd70d2b303ec29d8435" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Pramod Shrestha installing a data logger at an NHRC mosquito breeding site last year to track temperature and humidity in real time — conditions that determine the mosquito life cycle, influencing development, survival, and egg hatching. Certain species including Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, prosper only within narrow climatic ranges, so these measurements help understand how mosquitos adapt to climate change.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060412_09706a1f0d5ea8e7e9f393b770a52e3b34e95e1fc5e01b816e0c39920582faf1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20260425060412_09706a1f0d5ea8e7e9f393b770a52e3b34e95e1fc5e01b816e0c39920582faf1" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest NT"> <figcaption>Fog in Pokhara Valley moving up the Annapurnas, just as dengue-carrying mosquitoes move up the mountains. Rising temperatures, coupled with unseasonal pre-monsoon downpours provide ideal breeding conditions for dengue-carrying mosquitos. These conditions enable vectors to survive at increasingly higher altitudes. Public awareness and prevention remain key factors to limit the spread of the dengue virus.</figcaption> </figure>  ©2026YuriSegalerba ©YuriSegalerba ©YuriSegalerba©YuriSegalerba

Mosquitos ascend to the base of Mt Everest

Krishna Bahadur Ramtel was returning home after visiting a temple when his family insisted on climbing the Dharara viewtower in Kathmandu. He climbed up the narrow steep stairs with his mother-in-law and sister-in-law. His wife was nine months pregnant and chose to stay behind. At the top, Ramtel was holding the balcony bars when the tower started swaying at 11:56AM on 25 April 2015. The 62m tall Dharara, built and rebuilt after previous earthquakes, then collapsed into a jumble of bricks and masonry. “I heard screams everywhere, I told my mother-in-law and sister-in-law not to panic,” recalls Ramtel after regaining consciousness on a pile of rubble (pictured, below). Rescuers extricated his legs from under a brick arch and rushed him to the hospital, which was already crowded with patients writhing in pain.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260423120420_76bbf4eefc3b54464f585ac4fac81ac602cc10f7be56871860114724074847bb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260423120420_76bbf4eefc3b54464f585ac4fac81ac602cc10f7be56871860114724074847bb" data-rendition-name="original" width="801" height="399" loading="lazy" alt="Dharara survivor"><figcaption>Photo: KRISHNA BAHADUR RAMTEL / FACEBOOK(Photo: Sonia Awale)</figcaption></figure>  His wife survived, but his in-laws did not. Ramtel was devastated, more so for his wife who was going to be a new mother, but lost two family members. His right leg needed an operation, but he made a complete recovery. His child was born soon after, and Ramtel’s wife had to take care of her baby as well as her injured husband. But tragically, she lacked the help of her mother and sister. The 7.8M earthquake 11 years ago this week killed 8,962 people in Central Nepal. Because it was Saturday, Dharahara Tower was more crowded than usual, and at least 180 bodies were later retrieved from the ruins. Most like Ramtel who miraculously survived were on the balcony, while those climbing or descending the staircase were killed. Built by Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa in 1832, there were originally two towers. But one collapsed and other was damaged in the 1834 earthquake and rebuilt. Exactly 100 years later, another earthquake brought it down again. It was again restored only to collapse in 2015.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260423120420_25be3e1f9f78a3c08dcf16d5ac6663f8fbb860073d1eaf740c02b8dd18e1ea21.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260423120420_25be3e1f9f78a3c08dcf16d5ac6663f8fbb860073d1eaf740c02b8dd18e1ea21" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Dharara survivor"><figcaption>Photo: ADITYA KHARE(Photo: Aditya Khare)</figcaption></figure>  Only the base of the original tower remains as a memorial inside the Dharahara complex, where a reinforced concrete tower now stands. Dubbed ‘Seto Tower’ by Prime Minister Balendra Shah when he was mayor of Kathmandu is broader than the previous tower and even has a lift that goes up to the viewing deck. But Ramtel says he not going anywhere near Dharara. He says, “That place holds memories that I do not want to remember, but I cannot forget either.” Soon after his operation, Ramtel returned to his hometown in Dhading where more members of the extended clan offered support. But now he lives in Kathmandu with his family, his son is now 11 and he recently had another child.. “Being alive is a blessing. As long as one is living, there will be struggles, and I am ready to face them all,” he tells us.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260423120420_4a205fcd45f87cf1251742f6ed09f447d5f3ff363f1c65c646da46c9c456339d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260423120420_4a205fcd45f87cf1251742f6ed09f447d5f3ff363f1c65c646da46c9c456339d" data-rendition-name="original" width="640" height="427" loading="lazy" alt="Dharara survivor"><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI / NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE(Photo: Sonia Awale)</figcaption></figure>  NO PREPAREDNESS While 25 April serves as a reminder of the last major earthquake in Nepal, 16 January is marked annually as Earthquake Safety Day, coinciding with the 8.3M megaquake of 1934. Seismologists say the 7.8M disaster was not the big earthquake that Kathmandu experiences every 80-100 years, and the Big One is yet to hit. Building standards are still regularly flouted in densely populated parts of Kathmandu, which worries Ramtel. “The government acts only after the disaster has happened, people and the authorities forget quickly and move on. There is little preparation, and we expect God to save us,” says Ramtel, who also survived because of divine intervention.

Living to tell the tale

Daniel J Miller arrived in Nepal as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1974, and spent four years in villages above 3,500m, recording the lives of livestock herders.&nbsp; His photographs and ethnographic observations offer a valuable visual documentation of how the lives of Himalayan humans were (and are) intertwined with their yaks, sheep, goats and the ecosystems they shared. Miller later worked for USAID, the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). He travelled across Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Tibetan regions of China, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Nepal, documenting livelihoods of the inhabitants of High Asia.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_8c73e8c123a1b4cb9f9dd3a2fe8b4b8f97ac9ad16486651bfe14bba15a903e2a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260425060420_8c73e8c123a1b4cb9f9dd3a2fe8b4b8f97ac9ad16486651bfe14bba15a903e2a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1017" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>A fast-moving herd crosses the dry plateau.ICIMOD - All Rights Reserved.</figcaption> </figure>  The Himalaya is not just a high altitude wilderness, it is a living ecosystem that includes grasslands, shrublands, forests, wetlands and a cold desert. These accounts for 60%, about 2 million sq km, of the region.&nbsp; Miller's work captured the essence of this diverse landscape, its pastoralists and their livestock, and communities whose livelihoods depended on seasonal movement across high passes. &nbsp; Miller’s photographs romanticised the rangelands and the nomadic lives of its people, while encapsulating its inherent beauty and resilience. He photographed nomad camps and caravans, documenting seasonal landscape use and migration as herders moved up to summer pastures and down in winter. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_ff707c0855b3743a372dbcbde79d4d3ea7e9e56a5cdbb9c188b72c2eb525230d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260425060420_ff707c0855b3743a372dbcbde79d4d3ea7e9e56a5cdbb9c188b72c2eb525230d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1515" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>Mounted herders gather on a green alpine slope.ICIMOD - All Rights Reserved.</figcaption> </figure>  Miller wrote in his book Drokpa: Nomads of the Tibetan Plateau and Himalaya: ‘Moving across the grasslands with their animals, their home a tent, nomads evoke freedom.’ His images show a world shaped by indigenous knowledge, vibrant culture, and a harmony between people and their ecosystems.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_daa370021ec4fa2c95210154d37ab7f2512a542d6217c158752052b558438bb8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260425060420_daa370021ec4fa2c95210154d37ab7f2512a542d6217c158752052b558438bb8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1107" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>Daniel J Miller with his book.</figcaption> </figure>  CLIMATE CHANGE From the Yunnan mountains to Afghanistan, the Himalayan arc supports the livelihoods of 30 million pastoralists, sustaining a rich bio-cultural diversity. Today, this balance is being disrupted in an unprecedented scale by climate and demographic change.&nbsp; Because crops struggle to grow in this harsh, high terrain, livestock is what sustains mountain communities. For the Drokpa, Bakarwal, Brokpa and Changpa, livestock is their biggest asset. &nbsp; The animals can survive temperature as low as –40°C. But global warming over the last 25 years has severely impacted the herds, weather systems and ecology of the Himalaya.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_379bdaf911d92d43e9fea7e460200b85efb32afd4fb72ac70efdeab783208b59.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260425060420_379bdaf911d92d43e9fea7e460200b85efb32afd4fb72ac70efdeab783208b59" data-rendition-name="original" width="1511" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>Sheep spread across a wet meadow showing pastoral livelihoods depend on pockets of fragile forage in high-altitude rangelands.ICIMOD - All Rights Reserved.</figcaption> </figure>  Livestock increasingly suffer respiratory problems, loss of appetite and stress, weakening age-old pastoral systems. The mortality among the animals has increased, forcing herders to seek alternative migration routes and graze animals in unfamiliar and often riskier terrain.&nbsp; What were once well-established pastoral routes are also being disrupted by border controls, protected areas, highways and hydropower plants. Pastoral livelihoods that relied on predictable climatic rhythms are increasingly vulnerable. Wildlife populations are declining, and with them, centuries-old knowledge systems.&nbsp; The gradual loss of rangelands is threatening ways of life that depend on mobility, and intergenerational transmission of pastoral wisdom.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_bee79ad2f8c40ab562e184a836194da9b69d85c4f9ecafb93e986dd169738de4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260425060420_bee79ad2f8c40ab562e184a836194da9b69d85c4f9ecafb93e986dd169738de4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1554" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>A pastoral camp spreads across the high rangelands, where tents, horses and open pasture show the mobility that has long sustained herding life in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.ICIMOD - All Rights Reserved.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_1b0a939b622148631f1aab81f17b0291146baef69eac1bcce635e988104a3f3c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260425060420_1b0a939b622148631f1aab81f17b0291146baef69eac1bcce635e988104a3f3c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1539" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>At a seasonal camp, pastoral households stand at the centre of the rangeland, holding together family, livestock, culture, and mobility.ICIMOD - All Rights Reserved.</figcaption> </figure>  Miller’s work reminds us of what it was like in the 1970s, how much things are changing today. His photographs show lush pastures and fluid seasonal movement in regions where grasslands are now turniong into desert, springs are going dry, and extreme weather disrupt long-established migration cycles.&nbsp; Miller’s photographs of caravans and herders are an urgent call for action. They remind us that rangelands are livings sytems, interlinked with human survival, biodiversity and cultural identity. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_43067c16b97b0646b37b9bfa52602222a266a849bf8a2870ac628daa44a14c37.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260425060420_43067c16b97b0646b37b9bfa52602222a266a849bf8a2870ac628daa44a14c37" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1247" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>At 72, Miller is ready to ride.</figcaption> </figure>  Often, the burden of these changes falls on women and the elderly. Their traditional skills spinning wool into blankets, weaving hand-knotted carpets, crafting garments, and building yak-hair tents are becoming a lost art. &nbsp; In pastoral kitchens, the craft of preserving raw milk by turning it into chhurpi and ghee is declining with outmigration, water scarcity and warming trends.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260425060420_3fe1b1475afa1708587e7dcaebda539854c855a4d4283c360c2a3befbe98ce3d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260425060420_3fe1b1475afa1708587e7dcaebda539854c855a4d4283c360c2a3befbe98ce3d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1739" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rangelands of the Himalayan Range NT"> <figcaption>Goats and sheep are handled in a dusty enclosure, showing the daily labour and care of livestock by pastoralists in harsh terrain.ICIMOD - All Rights Reserved.</figcaption> </figure>  RECOGNISING PASTORIALISM The future of Himalayan rangelands depends on recognising pastoralism not just as an endangered way of life, but &nbsp;a system that must be valued and sustained. This demands innovative approaches that support the people who continue to serve as the custodians of these fragile landscapes.&nbsp; The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) 2026 unites global institutions and offers opportunities to recognise the value of rangelands and safeguard them before the loss is permanent.&nbsp; Saurav Thapa Shrestha is a Communications Associate at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu.