<figure><img width="2048" height="1364" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d05fb9c7e80680e0a5f3ajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>There is breaking news every other day: the United States donates 2 million Moderna shots to Bangladesh and Pakistan. Denmark announces 250,000 AstraZeneca doses to Bhutan. Japan pledges surplus AZ vaccines to Sri Lanka and the Pacific Islands.Nepal is never in the news, even though <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/lonely-wait-of-nepals-elderly-for-2nd-doses/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1.4 million people still wait for their second doses</a> of Covishield AZ vaccines and another 20 million people need to be inoculated before a possible third wave this year. So far, Nepal has only been gifted or bought vaccines from India, China or the COVAX initiative. It has not even got 1 million vaccines from Serum Institute India that it paid for, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/no-vax-ask-for-mask/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">all other promises from western countries were never kept</a>.  Nepal’s vaccine diplomacy has failed miserably. And the only silver lining is that there are four million doses of the Chinese Sinopharm VeroCell starting next week to immediately inoculate its above 55 population.Nepal is still recording an excess of 2,000 new cases a day and is seeing a slight daily increase following the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandu-covid-19-lockdown-relaxed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">relaxation in travel restrictions</a>. Everyone, the public and the government, seem to have forgotten that the real peak during the first wave last year took place only after the lockdown was eased.“The third wave is already on its way, our figures are going up and we must assume we will be hit by new variants,” says Buddha Basnyat, a physician at Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS). “We must vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible, if not we will get more difficult variants that are potentially resistant to the vaccines.”In other news, the Oxford Vaccine Group which developed the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine has found that administering two doses 44-45 weeks produced the highest antibody boost. This news, announced by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/im-sad-vaccines-are-delayed-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Andrew Pollard</a>, one of the developers of the AZ, is glad tidings for countries like Nepal where people above 65 are waiting for their second doses.Pollard said antibody levels remained elevated for close to a year with <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/ten-month-gap-between-astrazeneca-doses-sees-highest-antibody-boost-oxford-study/article35019890.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a ten-month gap between AZ doses</a>, as well as antibody levels twice that after the second dose among volunteers who were administered a third booster dose, pointing to a long-term, possibly life long immunity, also against variants.“This is great news for the elderly, many of whom are panicking, unable to get their second dose in the recommended time frame. The additional time the study has afforded us shouldn’t lead to complacency in our effort to procure vaccines,” says Sher Bahadur Pun, an epidemiologist at Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital. <figure><img width="950" height="633" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d05fe9c7e80680e0a5f3bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Norway, Czech Republic and Denmark have unused AZ shots they want to donate to Nepal, but have been forced to go through <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/hope-hyperbole-and-hypocrisy-of-covax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COVAX, which is unlikely to deliver</a> the doses before the end of 2021.On 1 July, Denmark announced that it would donate 250,000 vaccines to Bhutan. However, it is understood that these grants still need to be facilitated by the EU. Also in the news this week is the result of a new modelling study published in the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s medical journal Eurosurveillance that further strengthens the link between <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/despite-doubts-nepal-sticks-with-astrazeneca-jabs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">AZ vaccines and a rare blood clot</a>.The study models four months of a vaccine distribution strategy in France from May 2021 and concludes that using AZ on the entire adult population would avert 10 deaths from Covid among 18-39-year-olds. However, it would be associated with 21 deaths from blood clots in the same age group over the same time period. In other words, <a href="https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40328123.html?type=amp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">clot risk to younger people from the AZ vaccine</a> is twice as high as Covid death risk. But public health experts in Nepal maintain that the benefit of mass vaccination still far outweighs the risk. “Similar studies in the context of the South Asian population are needed but as it is, transmission risk of Covid is much higher than the individual risk of blood clots here,” says epidemiologist Lhamo Yangchen Sherpa.Buddha Basnyat of PAHS concurs: “The UK with over half of its population fully vaccinated is now being hit by the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covids-regional-threat-needs-regional-response/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">delta variant</a>, although it has been largely spared from severity due to the mass inoculation. Nepal being mostly unvaccinated is unprotected both from transmission and severity. This should show us where our priority should lie.”The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control finding about clot risk therefore could indirectly be a blessing in disguise for countries like Nepal by further freeing up AZ stockpiles in Europe, as well as Korea and Japan.Even so, blood clot risk has prompted leaders including Germany’s Angela Markel to opt for Moderna as a booster shot to her first dose of AZ jab.Several EU nations including Germany have said mix-and-match doses are safe for Covid prevention, which according to new findings also point to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/health-57636356" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a better immune response</a>. This could also offer much-needed flexibility when vaccine supplies are uneven or limited.“We need to introduce mixing and matching also in Nepal in the face of more virulent delta variants, particularly for the elderly who are at the higher risk of developing severity from an infection, instead of waiting endlessly for Covishield,” says Basnyat.At a time when Nepal is yet to recover from a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-real-cost-of-nepals-second-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">devastating second surge</a>, only an equitable vaccination strategy will prevent an even more deadly third wave. But a mere 2.6% of Nepal’s population has been fully vaccinated, and less than 9% has received a single dose of either Covishield or VeroCell shots.  <figure><img width="1594" height="898" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d06009c7e80680e0a5f3cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>And even the doses are unevenly distributed within the country. More than half the first dose of VeroCell was distributed in Bagmati province, according to the government’s own figures. Moreover, 97% of the booster jabs of VeroCell were used only in Bagmati Province. “We are seeing a similar kind of disparity in vaccination that we saw in testing, concentrated in urban centres and in particular Kathmandu,” notes epidemiologist Lhamo Yanghen Sherpa. “The excuse for using most of the doses in Kathmandu is that people elsewhere refused to inoculate. If that’s the case what is the government and others doing to dispel vaccine myths?” Virologist Sher Bahadur Pun says the government should immediately deploy its 60,000 or so <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/enlisting-female-health-volunteers-to-fight-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">female community volunteers</a> and healthcare workers who have historically done such effective work in non-Covid childhood vaccination drives.He adds, “They are spread across the country and are best placed to communicate the significance of vaccines and increase vaccination uptakes at  local levels.”

Sonia Awale

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Vaccines too little, too late for Nepal?

<figure><img width="720" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121152/636b95289c7e80680e06f23fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Migrant workers, including Nepalis, in Kuwait after being vaccinated. A Nepali worker gets his jab (right). Source: Ram Bahadur Basnet</figcaption></figure><img width="720" height="960" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121152/636b952b9c7e80680e06f240jpeg.jpg" alt="">In February 2020, Nepali migrant worker Min from Sindhupalchok was excited to visit Nepal after completing two years working in Kuwait. More than a year later, he is still here, due to a Covid-19 travel ban by Kuwait.  He could have returned by taking an indirect route via the UAE since there were no direct flights from Nepal. But since quarantining in the UAE was too costly, he decided to wait for travel restrictions in Kuwait to be lifted. “Now it looks like new rules regarding mandatory vaccination in Kuwait will further delay my return,” says Min.Another worker in Kuwait is Lila from Chitwan. He had spent 15 years there, but has been stuck ever since he came home for a break. Lila’s employer in Kuwait is getting impatient.Stories of stranded migrants are common, but with new vaccination requirements by destination countries, the situation has only become even more uncertain. “From 1 August, Kuwait will allow entry of non-citizens <a href="https://www.khaleejtimes.com/coronavirus-pandemic/covid-19-kuwait-to-allow-fully-vaccinated-non-citizens-entry-from-august-1" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/coronavirus-pandemic/covid-19-kuwait-to-allow-fully-vaccinated-non-citizens-entry-from-august-1&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625121388603000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGRqFuLUOQyHv8xigeCvXBJcBO4MA">only if they are fully vaccinated</a> by one of the four vaccines: Pfizer BioNTech, Oxford/AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson &amp; Johnson,” says Nepal’s ambassador to Kuwait, Durga Bhandari. None of these vaccines are currently available in Nepal, and other countries that send workers to the Gulf also face the same problem. Saudi Arabia is also set to impose similar vaccination requirements from 1 August. Until then, those who are not vaccinated have to undergo quarantine for a week. While Qatar is allowing Nepali passengers with mandatory institutional quarantine, there has been no announcement regarding vaccines yet. Nepal is currently banned <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/business/uae-ban-on-flights-from-india-pakistan-and-12-other-countries-to-continue-101624791232360.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hindustantimes.com/business/uae-ban-on-flights-from-india-pakistan-and-12-other-countries-to-continue-101624791232360.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625121388603000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGNiLYfuDmDxMx29zavs0qeaH_35w">by the UAE</a> and <a href="https://www.arabianbusiness.com/culture-society/463675-bahrain-to-ban-travellers-from-india-pakistan-sri-lanka-bangladesh-nepal" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.arabianbusiness.com/culture-society/463675-bahrain-to-ban-travellers-from-india-pakistan-sri-lanka-bangladesh-nepal&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625121388603000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEAlpu8KOlC-kc1Zsa4tH4PqRrmLg">Bahrain</a> for public health reasons. The UAE has approved Sinopharm, Pfizer, Sputnik V and Oxford-AstraZeneca, and has imposed double vaccination mandate to South Africa, Nigeria and India, which will likely be applied to Nepalis as well once the ban is lifted, according to UAE-based travel entrepreneur Krishna Bhusal. As the Gulf countries ramp up their vaccination drives and set ambitious targets for universal vaccination, they have started to <a href="https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/saudi-arabia-bans-access-to-shopping-malls-for-unvaccinated-1.79888953" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/saudi-arabia-bans-access-to-shopping-malls-for-unvaccinated-1.79888953&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625121388604000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGatchZ14YZDxeTeuO6gYsybD3TyQ">require proof of full vaccination</a> for all activities including workplace visits, public events, restaurants and malls. Nepal, on the other hand, is bearing the brunt of the global vaccine inequality with a dismal vaccination rate of 2.6%. It is uncertain when outgoing migrants will get their turn, and as they wait, how many will lose lucrative opportunities or have visas or contracts expire. “Even without these flight bans and the new vaccination requirements, it has been difficult for workers with expensive quarantine and testing costs,” says labour recruiter Saroj Pokharel.  <figure><img width="1280" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121152/636b952d9c7e80680e06f241jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>It can cost from $800-$2,000 for institutional quarantine in Qatar depending on the standard of facilities, and many employers are reluctant to cover these expenses which get passed down to workers.  “The only way out is widespread vaccination, but at the rate we are progressing, I do not see the foreign employment sector recovering anytime soon,” Pokharel says. Quarantine costs are about $1,000 in Saudi Arabia as well. “Employers <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nepalembassysaudiarabia/photos/pcb.4383977018335352/4383976668335387/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/nepalembassysaudiarabia/photos/pcb.4383977018335352/4383976668335387/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625121388604000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEmtN1gYwebB1uttNn6azamjkR9Ew">are required to foot the bill</a> and have to commit in writing in the job demand approval letter that they will bear the costs of quarantine. The Saudi authorities will also notify employers regarding this rule,”  says Nepali Labour Attaché Prem Upadhaya at the Consulate in Jeddah. However, given that workers are desperate it is likely that they will pay for it covertly, no matter how high the cost, or how inconvenient.  The rules on quarantine and vaccines do not just involve Nepali workers, and other countries face the same problem. In response, <a href="https://www.khaleejtimes.com/coronavirus-pandemic/covid-overseas-filipino-workers-now-priority-for-vaccinations-in-philippines" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/coronavirus-pandemic/covid-overseas-filipino-workers-now-priority-for-vaccinations-in-philippines&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625121388604000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHnyJI2Ct6KhHvrodMix3HHdQo45A">the Philippines</a> has put its overseas contract workers in the ‘essential’ category alongside health staff which moves them up in the vaccination priority list.  <a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/bangladesh/news/migrant-get-pfizer-moderna-vaccines-2119989" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thedailystar.net/bangladesh/news/migrant-get-pfizer-moderna-vaccines-2119989&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625121388604000&amp;usg=AFQjCNELsJNafXsHgtlEvgStbVvrBX2UQQ">Bangladesh</a> will prioritise workers heading to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia for the Pfizer vaccines that it received as part of the global COVAX initiative. It is set to receive 2 million doses of the <a href="https://www.newagebd.net/article/142013/bangladesh-to-get-25m-doses-of-moderna-covid-vaccine-from-usa-soon" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.newagebd.net/article/142013/bangladesh-to-get-25m-doses-of-moderna-covid-vaccine-from-usa-soon&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625121388604000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFbi4BS2QNvFQRAy-CH1Y9JsT1W0Q">Moderna vaccine</a> from the United States through COVAX. The country also has a scheme to reimburse quarantine costs of workers to Saudi Arabia.  In Pakistan, Saudi-bound expats <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/28/asia/pakistan-expatriates-vaccination-center-intl-hnk/index.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/28/asia/pakistan-expatriates-vaccination-center-intl-hnk/index.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625121388604000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFJRRpihnsIY9ucUrvaWzFkopcjsw">broke into a vaccination centre</a> in Islamabad after fears that the AstraZaneca vaccines would run out. Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked Saudi Arabia and other countries to accept the WHO-approved Chinese vaccine with which Pakistan is inoculating its population.  <a href="https://www.dailynews.lk/2021/06/28/local/252607/slbfe-arrange-covid-jabs-free-foreign-job-seekers" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.dailynews.lk/2021/06/28/local/252607/slbfe-arrange-covid-jabs-free-foreign-job-seekers&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625121388604000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHjFonIPKoFSEU0CaUMXKxyigNsCA">Sri Lanka</a> has also announced free vaccines for those with confirmed overseas jobs, but is also dependent on the Sinopharm Chinese vaccine, which is not accepted by key destination countries.  In <a href="https://telanganatoday.com/relief-for-nris-as-saudi-approves-covishield" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://telanganatoday.com/relief-for-nris-as-saudi-approves-covishield&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625121388604000&amp;usg=AFQjCNExwn7EkYkTzX80oqjEd5UFS0uLTw">India</a>, many migrant workers are stranded because their vaccine certificates refer to Covishield, and not Oxford AstraZeneca. However, Saudi Arabia finally recognised Covishield as equivalent to AstraZeneca after diplomatic dialogue. Vaccination camps have been set up for outgoing students and workers, although <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/vaccination-camp-for-people-with-plans-to-go-abroad/article34889852.ece" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/vaccination-camp-for-people-with-plans-to-go-abroad/article34889852.ece&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625121388604000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHEBvKQtQVlQtUD1cKoW-dlOYF1RA">demand far outweighs supply</a>. In Nepal, however, there is growing frustration with the lack of progress in sourcing vaccines. Says Sujit Shrestha of NAFEA (Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies): “We need a way out because there is demand in these countries for Nepali workers. The government should get vaccines and prioritise outgoing workers, or coordinate with destination countries to provide quarantine and vaccines for workers. For many Nepali families, foreign employment is the only source of income.” After a few months of slow and uneven recovery of emigration, the second wave impacted both new and current Nepali workers. But even with cases falling and limited flights allowed, there is uncertainty because of the vaccines.  It is not just about whether Nepal can inoculate outgoing workers soon, but also whether the vaccination provided is accepted by the destination country.  Saudi Arabia has a demand for 40,000 Nepali workers that are waiting to be filled. In Kuwait, employers are struggling with labour shortages. This is in addition to thousands stranded in Nepal while on holiday like Min and Lila, who are at risk of losing their jobs overseas. Says Kuwait-based Nepali Ram Bahadur Basnet: “If flights normalise and the issue of vaccinations gets sorted out, Nepalis will be able to find attractive opportunities here.”  Some names have been changed. Additional reporting by Hom Nath Giri.

Upasana Khadka

Job-seekers now also jab-seekers

<figure><img width="1236" height="856" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85a09c7e80680e067804jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure><h2>1. Oxygen</h2> To save lives, Nepal’s most urgent need now is oxygen. Not just cylinders, but oxygen generators, concentrators and liquid oxygen. Most infected people are not succumbing to Covid-19, they are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/helping-nepalis-breathe-again/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">dying because of low oxygen saturation</a> in the blood, and lack of hospital beds -- patients who need not have died of coronavirus. Dire as the situation is in the cities, Nepal’s pandemic has now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepals-humanitarian-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">infiltrated the remotest villages</a> where there is no hospital care and no oxygen. The virus is preying on people already suffering malnutrition, previous ailments, and decades of structural state neglect. In Rolpa, Humla and other remote districts, between 80-90% of PCR tests are coming back positive, and it takes a week to get results. Patients are either not isolating, or not following precautions.Kathmandu's doctor-to-patient ratio is 1:850, but in rural Nepal it is one doctor for every 15,000 people, and hospitals and medical staff there <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/at-the-covid-19-frontlines-in-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">are already overstretched</a>.Close to 60% of all swabs collected nationwide are from Bagmati Province, with nearly half of them in Kathmandu Valley, says epidemiologist Lhamu Yangchen Sherpa. She adds: “There just aren’t enough tests and contact tracing is minimal, official total cases and fatalities are grossly underestimated.” <figure><img width="1497" height="746" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85a39c7e80680e067805jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="984" height="519" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85a69c7e80680e067806jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Hospitals in Kathmandu Valley with roof helipads have multiple daily rescue flights, but even these facilities are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/we-knew-the-tsunami-was-approaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">at breaking point</a> with patients being turned away. Understaffed and under-equipped hospitals in the districts do not stand a chance. Even where hospitals exist, many families avoid them for fear of being infected and take wrong medication from pharmacies.Case in point are recent deaths due to misdiagnosis across the country. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-shot-in-the-arm-for-vaccines-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Typhoid disease</a> simulates Covid-19 with similar symptoms, and the widespread Widal test is known to give false positives.“Covid patients are being prescribed antibiotics to fight typhoid, only to turn critically ill in a few days’ time,” says Buddha Basnyat of Patan Academy of Health Sciences. “This is the reason behind some of the latest Covid fatalities.” <figure><img width="1280" height="720" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85a89c7e80680e067807jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>As in India, Nepal is beginning to see a slight bending of the curve for new infections, but health experts expect the fatality rate to remain high for some more time.  There were 190 Covid deaths in the past 24 hours and 6,543 recoveries. Of the total 8,305 new cases on Thursday, Kathmandu Valley accounts for 3,232 infections. 7,814 people are undergoing treatment in hospitals with 1,748 in ICU and 492 in ventilator support. “After the relentless patient pressure of the past month, we have seen a decline in those requiring admissions,” says virologist at Teku hospital Sher Bahadur Pun. “The virus has now infected a majority of people in the cities, and this combined with the lockdown means we may be getting to the halfway mark of the second wave.” <h2>2. Vaccines</h2> A prolonged lockdown is not the answer. If it was, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/covid-19-numbers-slightly-down-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reduction in the number of cases and the positivity rate</a> this week would have been steeper. Even while the government tries to increase oxygen supply to hospitals, the only long-term strategy is to vaccinate at least 70% of Nepal’s eligible population.Doctors report a marked difference between the recovery of people who are vaccinated against those who are not. Says virologist Pun at Teku Hospital: “Except for a few rare cases, all patients in critical condition and those dying are the ones who for one reason or another had not been vaccinated.”But Nepal has run out of its vaccine stock, leaving 1.4 million people still waiting for their second dose of AstraZeneca Covishield in a lurch, after India banned its export, and the COVAX Facility could not supply its remaining 1.8 million vaccines to Nepal because of the global supply bottleneck.  <figure><img width="1440" height="1080" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85ac9c7e80680e067808jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Nepal government and pressure groups in Nepal and the United States <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-needs-urgent-american-vaccine-support/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">have strongly urged the Biden administration</a> to immediately rush some of its AstraZeneca doses to Nepal.Meanwhile, the UK, the US and Canada have authorised vaccines for use in children and adolescents, sparking outrage in the global public health community for prioritising an age group that is rarely critically affected by Covid-19. The World Health Organisation’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged rich countries to instead donate doses to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/unicef-urges-g7-to-dispatch-vaccines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COVAX Facility</a> for poorer states that have barely covered health workers and the most vulnerable groups. Speaking at the British Parliament last week, noted vaccinologist and the principal researcher of Oxford University’s AstraZeneca vaccine, Andrew Pollard, called the decision to inoculate children in wealthy nations ahead of high-risk groups in poorer countries “morally wrong.” Pollard has worked extensively in the region, leading research into the burden and transmission of typhoid in Nepal, Bangladesh and Malawi, and the impact of typhoid vaccine in these areas. He also runs surveillance for invasive bacterial diseases, and studies the impact of pneumococcal vaccines in children in Nepal.In Nepal, vaccination will grind to a halt this week after the current campaign to inoculate 300,000 people in the 18-59 age group with their second dose of the Chinese VeroCell ends.  <figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85af9c7e80680e067809jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85b29c7e80680e06780ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="960" height="639" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85b49c7e80680e06780bjpeg.jpg" alt="">Although <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-is-a-priority-for-vaccine-shipments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali says</a> the government is in “final negotiations” for 2 million doses of Sinopharm VeroCell vaccines by June, there is no movement at the Ministry of Health. Ongoing talks to procure 8 million doses of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/vaccine-geo-politics-and-sputnik-v/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Sputnik V</a> have hit a production capacity snag in Russia. “We can implement lockdowns only for so long, the only exit strategy is vaccines. Science delivered, now our politicians must do the same,” says Buddha Basnyat, a physical at the Patan Academy of Health Sciences. “The Nepal government must procure vaccines using every diplomatic channel possible, and rich countries must realise that they are not safe until countries like Nepal are also vaccinated.” Activists have been trying to convince <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/leading-public-figures-call-on-uk-government-for-oxygen-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the US government and Europeans</a> that Nepal has a lot of experience in successful vaccination campaigns against polio, smallpox, measles. It has over 50,000 female community health volunteers (FCHVs) reaching children with vaccines every year.  <figure><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85b79c7e80680e06780cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img width="2048" height="943" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85ba9c7e80680e06780djpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1920" height="864" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111148/636b85bd9c7e80680e06780ejpeg.jpg" alt="">Similarly, Nepal’s health system has amassed vast experience in maintaining the vaccine cold chain even in the remote mountains. It also has trained human resource overseeing DOTS (Directly Observed Therapy, Short-course) for tuberculosis management all over the country who can lend a hand in equitable distribution of vaccines in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/rural-nepal-fights-back-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">rural Nepal</a>.Says epidemiologist Lhamo Yangchen Sherpa: “It’s not too late, we can still use existing resources like FCHVs to better mobilise vaccination, conduct contact tracing, dispel any remaining vaccine hesitancy, and use public health professionals in prevention.”

It’s an Emergency

<figure><img width="1280" height="854" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cd9ef9c7e80680e092ecejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Thousands of revellers thronged to Kathmandu's Darbar Square on Sunday to celebrate Phau Purnima ignoring warnings of a possible second Covid-19 wave and despite hazardous smoke haze that has shrouded the country for days. Photos: MONIKA DEUPALA and AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>After a year of living in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic, Nepalis were bracing themselves for a second wave from India, when they were hit by an unexpected disaster: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/wildfires-in-nepal-cause-air-quality-to-plummet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wildfires that have shrouded the country</a> in a pall of smoke for days.The two crises have converged with the suspension of Nepal’s Covid-19 vaccination drive after India <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/despite-doubts-nepal-sticks-with-astrazeneca-jabs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">banned the export of the AstraZeneca Covishield doses</a>. Two days after the Ministry of Health warned citizens about wearing masks, washing hands and avoiding crowds to defend themselves against a coronavirus surge, it issued another statement on Saturday telling people to stay indoors to avoid the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hazardous haze</a>, and not to venture out unless urgent.It did not look like people in Kathmandu were paying attention to either warning. Thousands of revellers thronged to Kathmandu’s Darbar Square on Sunday dancing and singing, spraying water and smearing colour on each other to celebrate the festival of colours, Phau Purnima. “It depends on us whether there will be another lockdown. Do we continue to mask up and maintain physical distance or start crowding and ignore safety measures?” warns Buddha Basnyat of the Patan Academy of Health Sciences. “Nepal usually tracks India in health trends, so we have to be prepared.” <figure><img width="1280" height="852" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cd9f29c7e80680e092ecfjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cd9f59c7e80680e092ed0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cd9f99c7e80680e092ed1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figure><img width="1280" height="854" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cd9fc9c7e80680e092ed2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Public gatherings in light of vaccine shortage can have disastrous results.</figcaption></figure>Despite the government ban on public gatherings following the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/its-not-over-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">second wave in neighbouring India</a>, there have been political rallies and public gathering with people behaving as if the pandemic is over. Kathmandu’s bars, restaurants and malls are packed to the brim. Offices and schools have reopened, and there is little physical distancing.On Saturday, with 62,714 new Covid-19 cases, India registered the highest daily rise in 2021 with Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Punjab, Goa, Puducherry, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana recording the highest positivity rates. Bihar state neighbouring India is also seeing a surge as workers travel back.Anticipating another lockdown like last year, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-still-stuck-in-no-mans-land/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali migrants from India</a> have also started returning home. Checkpoints in Karnali, Far-West and Province 2 are overwhelmed with a steady rise in positive cases among returnees, who are being asked to self-isolate at homes.“We now have a year-long experience of managing Covid-19 and it is time to learn from our previous mistakes and limitations,” says Sher Bahadur Pun, a virologist at Teku Hospital.Sameer Dixit of Centre for Molecular Dynamics Nepal agrees. “While the second wave in India has been limited to fewer states so far and hasn’t resulted in as high a mortality rate as the first time, local governments here must take charge: monitor returnees, their tests and quarantines,” he says.Despite being <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-fights-infodemic-to-push-vaccine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">one of the first Asian countries to start a Covid-19 vaccination drive</a> in late January, Nepal now has only about 500,000 doses of AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine in stock, just sufficient for second doses starting 20 April for those who had inoculated in the first phase.Following the Indian ban on the export of Covishield vaccine before domestic demand is met, Nepal is yet to receive another million doses it purchased from Serum Institute of India. The ban has also delayed the next batch of Covishield shots under <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/glimmers-of-hope-for-nepal-on-vaccine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the COVAX initiative</a>, which is not expected until May.A Nepal Airlines plane is finally flying to Beijing on Monday to bring back 800,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine gifted by China, but it will not be sufficient to begin the next phase of vaccination targeted at the age group 55-64.But if it comes down to it, experts are recommending vaccinating as many individuals in the risk group as possible, even if that means bypassing the second dose for those already inoculated with the first. <figure><img width="3200" height="1970" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111012110/636cd9ff9c7e80680e092ed3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Tourists take part in Phau Purnima revelry at lakeside in Pokhara despite fears of a second wave, and even though Pokhara has been shrouded in smoke for the past three days. Photo: KRISHNA MANI BARAL</figcaption></figure>So far, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/1-6-million-vaccinated-20-million-to-go/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal has inoculated 1.6 million people</a> and needs to vaccinate 20 million more under its target to immunise 70% of its population. For this alone, the government needs to look into other certified vaccines in the market such as Russian Sputnik V, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Chinese vaccines.With governments failing to ensure supply, it has become crucial to get the private sector involved to meet demand. The Ministry of Health earlier this month approved letting private companies import vaccines so that those with the resource and willingness can immunise themselves, this is said to involve India’s Covaxin and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/sputnik-v-vaccine-mystery-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Russian Sputnik</a>.

Thick haze adds to Nepal Covid-19 woes

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636cccff9c7e80680e08bc51jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>Nepal took delivery of one million doses of Covishield vaccine ordered from the Serum Institute of India, on Sunday. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Amidst the pandemic, Covid-19 vaccines have become a means for countries to exert influence over others. This has seen global powers flex their manufacturing prowess to reap geopolitical gains.As a landlocked country perched between China and India, the world’s two most populous countries and the largest global vaccine manufacturers, Nepal has <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/glimmers-of-hope-for-nepal-on-vaccine/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/glimmers-of-hope-for-nepal-on-vaccine/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFMX8c41M-XBr18zmXA9q450CrOjw">benefited from them. </a>Attempts by both Beijing and Delhi to distribute vaccines to Nepal signify the Himalayan state’s growing strategic value to both.India made the first move. In January, New Delhi <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-nepal-vaccine-idUSKBN29W0VJ" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-nepal-vaccine-idUSKBN29W0VJ&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHvA5Q2Hq3IlOSW_YRiVLKoHZsimg">pledged to inoculate</a> Nepal’s frontline workers before any other country, and promptly dispatched one million doses of the Covishield vaccine manufactured by its <a href="https://www.seruminstitute.com/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.seruminstitute.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFeCK6lMJ0mEMwnhe5ZlUkRhkq83g">Serum Institute of India.</a>“Nepal is getting the vaccines within a week after India rolled out its vaccination drive, which signifies the friendship between India and Nepal and the importance India attaches to Nepal,” India’s ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra said, as the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/jabs-and-jab-nots/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/jabs-and-jab-nots/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFGat2xjZpiPoxjEjZIquz-r4fqSw">first shipment of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine arrived at Kathmandu airport.</a><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd029c7e80680e08bc52jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2839" height="2092"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Such rosy optics masked recent complications in relations between the two neighbours. India’s ties with Nepal have been strained in recent years by the Kalapani border <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/06/11/interpreting-the-india-nepal-border-dispute/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/06/11/interpreting-the-india-nepal-border-dispute/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHENUQx_suOCbeya69_G1M1t9-8ZQ">dispute</a>. In May 2020, India’s Defence Ministry opened a new 80 km-long road in the Himalaya to the Chinese border that passed through territory claimed by Nepal. In response, Kathmandu changed its own official map, and set up new border posts.There had been concerns in New Delhi that Nepal has become increasingly ‘Sinified’, especially since its six-month blockade of the border in 2015. China was the architect of the alliance of Nepal’s Maoist and UML parties, which swept the 2017 elections and united to form the Nepal Communist Party (NCP).Since 2018, Prime Minister K P Oli has signed off on numerous projects that are part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. The NCP and the Chinese Communist Party forged fraternal ties, with various workshops on ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ held in Kathmandu.After infighting among members of the Maoist coalition, Oli was forced to dissolve Parliament in December, presenting an opportunity for New Delhi to jostle for influence. While India will need to present more robust measures of support to Nepal than vaccines to cement its influence, India has a head start in the case of vaccine diplomacy.Evidently, Beijing has grown increasingly frustrated with the NCP leadership, and has voiced its displeasure by not opening its two border checkpoints, citing the pandemic. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/chinese-tourist-influx-to-nepal-in-2020/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/chinese-tourist-influx-to-nepal-in-2020/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGmlmUxbFQO-w3a9zFkseqhfdPvxg">China’s Ambassador in Nepal Hou Yanqi</a> failed after repeated attempts to get the NCP leadership to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-china-now-micro-managing-nepal-politics/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-china-now-micro-managing-nepal-politics/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFWPcQGwn4P8cJlsujB-h5uxm4tew">patch up their differences</a>, Beijing sent its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-china-now-micro-managing-nepal-politics/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-china-now-micro-managing-nepal-politics/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFWPcQGwn4P8cJlsujB-h5uxm4tew">Army Chief Wei Wengfe</a> to Kathmandu in November just after India’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/indias-multi-pronged-line-to-right-nepal-ties/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/indias-multi-pronged-line-to-right-nepal-ties/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHLEaB38PgM99Dyx6gKRNEM6v1gSg">Chief of Army Staff M M Navarane</a> himself paid a visit to Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd069c7e80680e08bc53jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1080"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Not to be outdone in vaccine geopolitics, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali on 5 February, and <a href="https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1852133.shtml" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/zxxx_662805/t1852133.shtml&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGy-kYDmw6qDY0hOU4alm8LtlGWKw">pledged </a>500,000 doses of its Sinopharm vaccine. After a long delay, the Chinese vaccine finally got approval from Nepal’s Department of Drug Administration last week for emergency use.The delay in the approval process for the Sinopharm vaccine, which has not been approved by the WHO yet, appears to have miffed Beijing. The Indian media played up supposed pressure by the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu to fast-track the approval process.Beyond the Himalaya, vaccine geopolitics is playing out elsewhere in South Asia. Attempts by China to distribute vaccines to Bangladesh were thwarted after the government there refused to contribute to the development costs of the Sinopharm vaccine.After India donated two million doses of Covishield to Bangladesh, Dhaka struck a deal to <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/bangladesh-to-buy-indian-covid-19-vaccines-after-china-asks-to-share-vaccine-trials-cost-report/article33648633.ece" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/bangladesh-to-buy-indian-covid-19-vaccines-after-china-asks-to-share-vaccine-trials-cost-report/article33648633.ece&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG9b3i3OdybiKzX5Vufug5v02OGGw">purchase 30 million</a> doses of the vaccine for the country, snubbing Beijing. Chinese state media accused <a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202101/1214041.shtml" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202101/1214041.shtml&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEoix9h2tMalRVwO7rZWBx2DMco2w">Delhi of meddling</a> with its  attempt to distribute vaccines in Bangladesh.China’s closest ally in the region, Pakistan, became the first country to receive donated shipments of China’s Sinopharm vaccine, with Beijing <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2021/02/china-gifts-pakistan-1-2-million-covid-19-vaccine-doses/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://thediplomat.com/2021/02/china-gifts-pakistan-1-2-million-covid-19-vaccine-doses/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGfbpJhrMSFm9ugwe0zMnssbFpZbw">pledging to send over</a> 1.2 million doses to Islamabad.Along with Nepal and Bangladesh, New Delhi also gifted Covishield to Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Seychelles, Mauritius and Burma as part of its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.Nepal also took delivery of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-braces-for-new-wave-with-vaccine-drive/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-braces-for-new-wave-with-vaccine-drive/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFOkIKOTq_lBwSlRkb9icdh4NEBhA">1 million more Covishield vaccines</a> that it ordered from the Serum Institute of India on Sunday, and another 2.2 million doses purchased by Britain under the <a href="https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/covax" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.who.int/initiatives/act-accelerator/covax&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFCmy6JvaMqdagVd7fzazTMUZePEA">WHO’s GAVI-COVAX initiative</a> are arriving next week.China has made strategic gains in the region in recent years to India’s detriment. Through its Belt and Road Initiative, China has poured investment into Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal and the Maldives. Funded by Chinese money, massive ports, highways and other infrastructure projects have been built. With its muddled bureaucracy and weaker spending power, Delhi had not been able to keep up with Beijing’s soft power expansion.Now, India is using vaccines as the vanguard of its response. The Serum Institute has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/world/asia/vaccine-diplomacy-india-china.html" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/world/asia/vaccine-diplomacy-india-china.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE0Xe33J3K0BozaLao6fO5i6bcnag">been producing</a> vaccine supplies at a much faster rate than the Indian government’s inoculation program can distribute them, making it easy for Delhi to send them abroad without suffering political backlash at home.This has given India a new edge for its soft power ambitions in the South Asian and Indian Ocean regions. Given that most of the developing world will not be vaccinated <a href="https://www.eiu.com/n/85-poor-countries-will-not-have-access-to-coronavirus-vaccines/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.eiu.com/n/85-poor-countries-will-not-have-access-to-coronavirus-vaccines/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFRvEEUYnAtYJl-4suTFC2JfUJFhQ">until 2023</a>, demand for vaccines will only rise. While China’s manufacturing prowess means that it is likely to keep up with demand, regional resistance to its largely un-trialed vaccines will complicate efforts to gain approval by government agencies.What happens in Nepal over the coming months will be a microcosm of regional vaccine geopolitics. The erosion of Chinese influence with its inability to keep the NCP together, gives an opening for New Delhi to reassert itself in Kathmandu.While China may have promised Nepal its continued support to help <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-nepals-covid-vaccine-turn-come/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-will-nepals-covid-vaccine-turn-come/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613969755600000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHVHDy7dKQmiyzWk-iPKWg82NOhBw">overcome the pandemic</a>, its assistance may not be needed or welcomed if India already fulfils this role.

South Asia’s vaccine geopolitics

Nepal’s only international aviation gateway, at Kathmandu airport, will cut night-time operation hours to allow construction of taxiways, and airlines have been told to curtail flights. This is expected to lead to more than normal chaos during the height of peak autumn and spring tourist seasons at an airport that is congested even at the best of times. The airport will close from 10PM to 8AM from 8 November-31 March 2025. The taxiways will now connect to the thresholds at both ends of the runway, making the airport more efficient in handling higher frequencies of landings and takeoffs. The parallel taxiway extension will allow international flights to land every 4 minutes instead of the current every 7 minutes. At present planes have to wait to land until a plane taking off backtracks along the runway.&nbsp; Kathmandu is Nepal’s only airport with international operations, and it has only one runway that is only one way in from the south over the mountains. With the taxiway improvement, the airport will be able to handle 42 aircraft landings and takeoffs per hour — double the current capacity.&nbsp; The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been trying to entice international airlines to also start flying to and from the other two international airports at Pokhara and Bhairawa (Lumbini) by slashing landing and handling charges. But so far only Nepal Airlines operates a weekly flight to Bhairawa from Kuala Lumpur.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32" data-rendition-name="original" width="2356" height="1134" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport expansion"> <figcaption>Kathmandu Airport Expansion plan with extension of taxiways to the thresholds of runways 02 and 20 that will limit airport operations from 8 November 2024 - 31 March 2025. Areas in blue are existing structures, including the international terminal which in future will be the domestic airport, and the new international terminal near the north end of the runway,</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1353" height="1328" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport NT"> </figure>  CAAN has reportedly told international airlines to cut their flight frequency to Kathmandu citing the shorter operation hours and has told budget airlines to shift some of their flights to Pokhara or Bhairawa, or face cuts. Many airlines currently operate regular flights to and from Kathmandu between 10PM and 8AM: Air Arabia to Sharjah, Fly Dubai to Dubai, Jazeera Airways to Kuwait, Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines, several Nepal Airlines flights, and one of four daily flights by Qatar Airways to Doha. Jazeera Airways, FlyDubai, and Thai AirAsia have applied and got permission from CAAN to begin regular flights to Bhairawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport. Starting 9 November, FlyDubai will start making a stopover in Bhairawa before flying on to Kathmandu. Immigration, customs and security are all fully functional in Bhairawa. In Kathmandu, the next phase of the airport upgrade includes converting the current international terminal for domestic operations, the construction of a new international terminal where the domestic departure area is now, as well as moving the hangars and the Nepal Army Air Wing to the eastern side of the runway. The apron area will also double its parking space for widebody jets. This is part of a Airport Capacity Enhancement Project that was initially funded through a $80 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the entire masterplan is expected to cost $800 million. This project is the latest upgrade to Nepal’s only international airport since it saw its first flight in 1949. The current international and domestic terminals are too small to handle the current annual traffic volume of 8.5 million passengers a year that is growing at 20% a year.

Kathmandu airport to cut flight hours

As Kathmandu becomes more congested and polluted, and with remote online work becoming the norm, many professional Nepalis are planning to retire in Pokhara, or move there.&nbsp; With its stunning mountain panorama, balmy winters and proximity to a profusion of wilderness areas, builders are responding to this demand with new townhouses, housing development and apartments. One such block of flats is the 10-storey <a href="https://sungavaapartment.com/">Sungava Apartment</a> located at Phulbari above the Seti River, near the point where it flows into and under Pokhara. The imposing structure near Manipal Hospital is almost complete, and on a recent visit the site was strewn with huge boulders unearthed while digging the foundation.&nbsp; The Seti brought down these boulders during a gigantic flood that geologists estimate happened 800 years ago when a chunk of Annapurna IV broke off and ploughed into the glacier below. Today, Sungava (means ‘orchid’) sits safely on a high terrace, 100m above the blue-green Seti and commands a view of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machapuchre, Annapurna III and IV.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1512" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  The soil here is conglomerate that has solidified like concrete, and the boulders were extracted by heavy earthmovers. It is intriguing to think that these metamorphic rocks as big as cars, rounded by glacial grinding, were once a part of a much higher Annapurna IV. Even for those with little interest in geology, Sungava is an ideal place to contemplate the tectonic forces that pushed these peaks into the sky to be sculpted into delicate shapes by wind, snow, earthquake and avalanche over millions of years. The view of the Himalayan panorama from Sungava’s many balconies are breathtaking when not obscured by clouds, or the haze that drifts in from across the southern border. On most days, just watching the towering pyramid of Machapuchre (Tamu name: कतासुँ क्लिको) play hide and seek with the clouds is mesmerising. There are rocks aplenty at Phulbari, and it is probably the flowers that grew along the flat terraces e that gave the place its flowery name. The boulders will hopefully be turned into a rock garden while landscaping. An nearby restaurant complex is making the best use of the stones in its design, using flat rocks as outdoor benches and tables. Sungava was designed by the husband-wife architect team of Deepak Sherchan and Jyoti Joshi of <a href="https://thedarkmermaidamarbshrestha.blogspot.com/2013/12/creative-builders-collaborative-cbc.html">Creative Builders Collaborative (CBC)</a>, which also built Heritage Plaza, Indreni Apartment and numerous other projects in Nepal. Sadbhavana retains CBC’s trademark Newari-style masonry and here it borrows from the orange brickwork of the old town of Pokhara, integrating it with modern design elements. A few of those heritage houses are still standing in Ganesh Tole and Ram Krishna Tole in Pokhara’s old quarter.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1362" height="595" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  About 400m from the apartment past a bend on the river, and down below three tiers of terraces in the canyon is a suspension bridge. Below it, the Seti is still swollen with post-monsoon flow as it tumbles away in a hurry to head down south.&nbsp; Back at the apartment, it is quiet, far away from the hubbub of Lakeside a 15 minute drive away, and in the lap of greenery. There are 52 units at Sungava and it already has a close-knit prospective community of professionals, including doctors, publishers, engineers, and businesspeople from the renewable energy and IT sectors.&nbsp; Some residents say they opted for a second home in Pokhara to make it a ‘base camp’ to explore the Annapurnas with its many hiking trails made newly accessible with new roads. With the NRN citizenship law, overseas Nepalis can now also buy the flats. &nbsp; The floor plans include options for north and south-facing 3-bedroom apartments with verandas, and the facility has underground parking has EV charging, heated pool, sauna and gym. There are still some unsold apartments with panoramic views of the mountains and one can imagine oneself at the kitchen with its huge window, humming a ditty while preparing breakfast: “खाना पकाउँ हिमाल हेरेर...”

High living below the Himalaya

When the United Nations held its Summit of the Future at its headquarters in New York in September, many world leaders, including Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli, highlighted the effect of climate breakdown in increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. What did not get as much attention was the long term impact of the climate crisis on food production. In fact, heat stress, weather extremes and the consequences on rain-fed agriculture is already being felt worldwide, undermining the chances of the <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> being met by 2030.&nbsp; The SDG’s 17 targets commit countries like Nepal to reduce poverty and inequality, end malnutrition, protect the natural environment, and ensure that citizens all enjoy health, justice and prosperity without leaving anyone behind.&nbsp; However, besides the impact of climate breakdown on agricultural production, in Nepal the area under cultivation is impacted by urban expansion, falling productivity and the need for expensive inputs like fertiliser and pesticides.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Kathmandu's urban sprawl is eating into its fertile cultivable lands. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  Now, a new study led by Nepali researcher Prajal Pradhan at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands looks at how urban agriculture may offer a solution to falling food production and meeting SDG targets. The researchers evaluated 1,450 publications exploring the contributions of urban agriculture with both positive and negative effects, and published their findings in the journal Cells Report Sustainability. Urban agriculture can help achieve 17 SDGs, positively influencing 81 targets. However, it could also undermine 51 goals.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason “Urban agriculture offers immense potential for sustainable development, but realising this potential depends crucially on adopting practices that minimise its adverse effects while maximising its benefits,” Pradhan explains. Urban agriculture can substantially enhance urban food security, provide employment to the urban poor, serve as ground water recharge in built-up areas, and preserve open spaces that can serve as safe havens during disasters like earthquakes. However, it also presents problems like the potential health risks from contamination and the need for expensive inputs. &nbsp; “Urban agriculture plays a definitive role in advancing the SDGs, but achieving this requires tailored, context-specific solutions that address the unique challenges of different regions,” says Yuanchao Hu of Wuhan University in China and who is a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “But it needs equitable access and rigorous management of environmental risks.”&nbsp; Rapid urbanisation is eating into Nepal’s most fertile agricultural land, which means farming in remaining open spaces inside cities can be a viable alternative, especially as food prices rise.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>A vegetable patch in between new houses in Thimi. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  “The conversion of Nepal’s most fertile land into cities is a severe problem,” Pradhan told Nepali Times. “Crop cultivation, horticulture, agroforestry, beekeeping, livestock rearing, or aquaculture can all be farming activities within and around cities.”&nbsp; The study makes recommendations for sustainable practices that build on the positive aspects of urban agriculture while mitigating the downsides, thereby promoting more resilient cities in future. Research shows that urban agriculture has been helping many countries attain SDG targets by enhancing food security and biodiversity while helping education and preservation of open spaces.&nbsp; Indeed, many farmers from the hinterland who have settled in Kathmandu Valley or other urban areas of the country have been practicing urban agriculture, leasing neighbourhood patches or cultivating roof gardens both out of necessity because of inflation and falling income to grow their own food, and also as a fulfilling hobby. Saurav Dhakal, a sustainability advocate with Story Cycle and now research fellow at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, says there are socio-economic and environmental benefits of urban agriculture. “It provides benefits to all urban dwellers, regardless of their income status,” says Dhakal, “families get fresh food, and there are many other benefits like water retention, heat regulation and biodiversity. These are all public goods, so special government incentives may be needed.” It is not unusual to see vegetable patches and even paddy fields within inner city Kathmandu where an older generation of farmers are using available fertile land and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415">roof gardens to produce fresh, nutritious food </a>to reduce their dependence on food items that have to be bought after being trucked in from large distances.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>An older generation of farmers are using any available fertile land to continue farming but it is getting more and more difficult. Photo: TAYLOR MASON </figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s urban population grew rapidly from only 3.6% in 1991 to 25% today. There is large outmigration from the mountains to peri-urban areas of the Tarai, to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, with many young men then moving abroad for work. Kathmandu Valley’s population has swelled to nearly 3 million, and is growing at 6.5% a year. Dilip Shrestha, 71, used to work for Nepal Food Corporation, so he knew firsthand about inflation, shortages and vegetables with pesticide residue. So, when he designed his new house in Kathmandu, he built a spacious roof where he grows cucumber, ginger, garlic, coriander, onions, tomatoes, chili, beans, okra, pumpkin and lettuce. His family eats healthier, and he has reduced dependence on the market.&nbsp; The co-author of the Cell Reports Sustainability journal article, Daya Raj Subedi who is a PhD candidate at Beijing Forestry University, says urban agriculture also promotes inclusion and psycho-social wellbeing.&nbsp; He says, “A crucial finding of the study is the identification of opportunities and challenges associated with urban agriculture, it can promote sustainable transformation of society.” In Banepa, 55-year-old Bijaya Manandhar in her lifetime has watched the fertile farms of her neighbourhood that used to supply vegetables to Kathmandu, now completely built up with no open space left. The pandemic lockdown prompted her to turn to the family’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world">ancestral livelihood by growing food</a> not on terrace farms, but on the roof terrace. Manandhar is now a part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world%5C%5C">कौसी खेती र करेसाबारी क्रान्ती</a> (Rooftop Farming and Garden Revolution) which has an online membership of 52,000, and awards annual prizes to women who excel in urban agriculture.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="736" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Rooftop farming is gaining popularity as a form of urban agriculture. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> </figure>  Pradhan says the challenge now is to upscale such examples of successful urban agricultural practices so they support Neal’s efforts to meet SDG targets. He adds, “Crop cultivation around cities can be protected by land use plans and regulations. Promoting community-based agriculture, including rooftop gardens, requires community engagement and public-private partnerships across the food value chain.”&nbsp; Such support would accelerate the popularity of existing rooftop farming and community gardens in Kathmandu Valley, or kitchen garden initiatives in Pokhara, and building on traditional farming practices that are preserved and integrated into urban settings like in Bhaktapur and Banepa. In Lalitpur, the Women Entrepreneurship Facilitation Center promotes urban farming enhancing both sustainability and empowerment.&nbsp; Another co-author of the report, Yuanchao Hu from China says followup research of the team will aim to identify good practices in local urban agriculture practices. He adds, “There are examples of urban agriculture that optimise sustainability, ensuring that it remains a viable solution for cities globally while countries try to meet SDG targets.” Prajal Pradhan, Daya Raj Subedi, Kshitij Dahal, Yuanchao Hu, Prakriti Gurung, Sijal Pokharel, Sagar Kafle, Biplav Khatri, Sudeeksha Basyal, Monika Gurung, and Aruna Joshi. Urban Agriculture matters for sustainable development. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1:100217, 2024. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100217] Prajal Pradhan (<a href="mailto:p.pradhan@rug.nl">p.pradhan@rug.nl</a>) This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>

Back to the land in the cities

The 700-year-old Lakshmi Narasingha temple in Bhaktapur houses a rare half-lion and half-human incarnation of Lord Vishnu carrying the Goddess Lakshmi. The temple was destroyed in the 1934 mega earthquake that killed 10,000 people and destroyed many monuments in Kathmandu Valley. It was rebuilt by a German project in the 1980s, but as a single-storey structure instead of its original two-tier pagoda design.&nbsp; With new findings from in-depth research, Bhaktapur municipality began re-restoring the temple in 2021, preserving its original architecture.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “Our temples and heritage sites hold deep meaning. It is disheartening to witness how often they lose their original elements, whether by design or accident,” explains Kumar Chawal of the Consumer Committee of Bhaktapur. “There is a need to preserve our architecture and protect its historical value for future generations. Otherwise, we risk losing a vital part of our identity.” The Laksmi Narsingha restoration is similar to the Bhai Dega temple in Patan Darbar Square which also collapsed in 1934, but was rebuilt with a Moghul-style dome by the Rana government at the time. Only two months before the 2015 earthquake, heritage conservationists had started to rebuild Bhai Dega as the original three-tier based on early photographs. But priorities shifted when four other temples in the square were brought down by the 7.8M earthquake on 25 April 2015.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  This showed how damage to monuments in Kathmandu Valley spanned from one earthquake to the next. Bhai Dega restoration remains half-complete to this day because money for its restoration ran out.&nbsp; Whereas Bhai Dega restoration was done by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust with grants from western embassies and international foundations, in Bhaktapur it is the municipality itself that allocated the Rs30.7 million needed to restore the Lakshmi Narasingha temple. The expected date of completion is early 2025. The municipality and local communities are focusing on two main aspects: preserving the past and promoting localisation. The restoration team has designed a blueprint for the temple by using historical photographs and insights from older generations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="560" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “At first, the Lakshmi Narasingha temple had only one entrance, but during the demolition process, we uncovered the foundations of four doors. Now, we are restoring all of them. This is an example of how our ancient structures have changed over time, often without our knowledge,” says Chawal. “Constructing temples is not like building houses. They carry historical and spiritual values, which is why they hold a special place in our hearts,” he adds. By replicating ancient design elements and rebuilding the temple as accurately as possible to its original form, the team has stayed true to Bhaktapur’s soul. But the restoration also revived ancient techniques that were in danger of being forgotten, generating employment for woodcarvers, masons, and contractors. The community of Bhaktapur’s Gahiti neighbourhood near the famous Nyatapola Temple has also set aside specific days for locals to volunteer in the reconstruction work. This has encouraged young people to take pride in ownership of their heritage. Families have also supported the effort by donating funds for bells, the temple pinnacle, and other structural features to the temple.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “I feel at peace knowing I have contributed my sweat to restoring this temple,” said one volunteer. “It is our duty to preserve our temples and heritage. The Nyatapola area will look magical once this temple is completed.” Community mobilisation is a long-standing tradition in Bhaktapur. In the past, locals have actively participated in the restoration of other temples in the city, such as Bhairav and Nyatapola fostering a strong sense of ownership. This collective engagement has not only been crucial in preserving the city's historical monuments but also in strengthening the bond between local communities and their heritage, says officials at the municipality. While securing funding is essential, and the municipality showed it values heritage conservation, the Lakshmi Narasingha restoration is proof that active involvement and sense of responsibility of the local community is as important, if not more. Local involvement also means that the monuments will be cared for into the future, When locals take ownership of these efforts, the restored monuments are not only protected in the present but are also cared for in the future.

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