UNFPA delivers 800 units of oxygen cylinders to Nepal

 The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) continues its humanitarian support to Nepal’s Covid-19 pandemic response by providing additional lifesaving supplies.

The UNFPA deputy representative Dr Hashina Begum today handed over the oxygen cylinders worth Rs 11.9 million (equivalent to $100,000) to the director of Management Division under the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) Dr Bhim Singh Tinkari.

The support from UNFPA to Nepal was made possible under the existing South-South and Triangular Cooperation Project agreement between Nepal, China, and UNFPA, according to a press note issued by the UNFPA.

As Nepal is battling the second wave of Covid-19, the country experienced a critical shortage of oxygen. The pandemic has put enormous pressure on health facilities across the country.

"We require oxygen supplies to respond to the current emergency as well as to prepare for a possible third wave," Dr Tinkari said, adding that the support from China and UNFPA will help increase access to health facilities with functioning oxygen supplies. "We appreciate our partnership with international development partners in our collective Covid-19 response efforts."

The pandemic has taken a heavy toll on vulnerable populations including women of reproductive age, who are facing greater barriers in accessing maternal health and family planning services, resulting in an increased number of home deliveries.

"While we are providing the critical support to the Covid-19 response efforts, we must ensure continuity of reproductive health services including consistent supply of contraceptives and essential reproductive health commodities to mitigate the impact of the unprecedented pandemic on women and girls,” said UNFPA representative to Nepal Lubna Baqi.

UNFPA is working with federal, provincial, and local governments and partners to ensure that special and unique needs of women and girls of reproductive age are addressed. "Thanks to the Government of China for their timely support under the maternal health programme in providing the oxygen cylinders to save lives at this critical time,” Baqi noted.

UNFPA will continue to support the government’s Covid-19 response plans together with other UN agencies and development partners to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on progress towards the three transformative results -- ending preventable maternal deaths, ending unmet need for family planning, and ending GBV and harmful practices.

Earlier, also with funding from Government of China, UNFPA delivered over 7,000 PPE kits to MoHP to support the Nepal’s effort to prevent transmission and respond to the pandemic while ensuring continuity of life-saving SRH and GBV services for women and girls. In addition, through the hospital-based One Stop Crisis Management Centers and safe houses UNFPA delivered over 340,000 sanitary pads, supported by China, to young women and girls across the country as part of Covid-19 and monsoon emergency responses.

Nepal receives medical support from US

In response to the request of the Government in the context of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases, the United States of America has sent a cargo aircraft containing important medical supplies.

The support materials – first of the three chartered aircraft arriving within the next two days – were received by the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), Dr Jageshwar Gautam from the officials of the Embassy of the USA and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Kathmandu on Saturday.

The medical support includes surgical masks, face shields, and gloves, according to a press note issued by the USAID. "This is in addition to the earlier support received from USAID including 100 units of ventilators, Covid-19 testing facilities and equipment, oxygen-related materials, personal protection equipment (PPEs) and other lifesaving medical supplies."

The USAID claimed that it is scheduled to hand over 1,000 oxygen cylinders to the Ministry of Health and Population tomorrow. "The much-needed medical support has been instrumental in saving lives and complementing the national initiatives for treatment, prevention and control of Covid-19."

The government expressed gratitude to the US government and people  for the solidarity they extended to the people of Nepal, reflecting the longstanding bilateral relations marked by friendship and cooperation. "The effort made by the US Embassy and USAID in Kathmandu for the timely delivery of the support materials has been acknowledged with appreciation,” reads the press note.

JICA Nepal handover Covid-19 response relief in Sindhupalchowk, Gorkha

 JICA Nepal handed over Covid-19 response relief items to Chautara Sangachowkgadhi Municipality and Helambu Rural Municipality in Sindhupalchowk and Palungtar Municipality and Barpak Sulikot Rural Municipality in Gorkha, four of the pilot local governments supported under its Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) ‘The Project on Participatory Rural Recovery’ (PPRR).

Chief Representative of JICA Nepal Yumiko Asakuma handed over emergency relief materials including food like rice, lentils, cooking oil, personal protection equipment (PPE), gloves, masks and sanitizers, Viral transport medium (VTM), for swabs and bedding sets like mattresses, pillows, and bed sheets etc to mayors and representatives of municipalities during the first and second week of August, according to a press note issued by the JICA Nepal office in Kathmandu.

Currently, Palungtar Municipality and Barpak Sulikot Rural Municipality are operating 4 quarantine facilities respectively, catering to between 40 to 70 people in isolation at any point in time, the press note reads, adding that Chautara Municipality has 2 facilities and Helambu Rural Municipality has one, with about 50 people accommodated.

The emergency relief materials were provided as part of the project's support to strengthen the capacities of local governments and communities not only for building back better from the 2015 earthquake but also for enhancing community resilience against various kinds of disasters including the ongoing global pandemic. 

Health workers silenced, exposed and attacked globally

Governments must be held accountable for the deaths of health and essential workers who they have failed to protect from Covid-19, Amnesty International (AI) said today, as it released a new report documenting the experiences of health workers around the world.
The organisation’s analysis of available data has revealed that more than 3000 health workers are known to have died from Covid-19 worldwide - a figure which is likely to be a significant underestimate.
Alarmingly, Amnesty International documented cases, where health workers who raise safety concerns in the context of the Covid-19 response have faced retaliation, ranging from arrest and detention to threats and dismissal.
“With the Covid-19 pandemic still accelerating around the world, we are urging governments to start taking health and essential workers’ lives seriously,” Amnesty International’s Researcher and Advisor on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Sanhita Ambast said, adding that countries yet to see the worst of the pandemic must not repeat the mistakes of governments, whose failure to protect workers’ rights has had devastating consequences. “It is especially disturbing to see that some governments are punishing workers who voice their concerns about working conditions that may threaten their lives.”
Health workers on the frontline are the first to know, if government policy is not working, and authorities who silence them cannot seriously claim to be prioritising public health, Ambast added.
There is currently no systematic global tracking of how many health and essential workers have died after contracting Covid-19. However, Amnesty International has collated and analysed a wide range of available data that shows that over 3000 health workers are known to have died after contracting Covid-19 in 79 countries around the world.
According to Amnesty International’s monitoring, the countries with the highest numbers of health worker deaths thus far include the USA (507), Russia (545), UK (540, including 262 social care workers), Brazil (351), Mexico (248), Italy (188), Egypt (111), Iran (91), Ecuador (82) and Spain (63).
The overall figure is likely to be a significant underestimate due to under-reporting, while accurate comparisons across countries are difficult due to differences in counting. For example, France has collected data from just some of its hospitals and health centres, while figures of deceased health workers provided by health associations in Egypt and Russia have been contested by their governments.
Health workers reported serious shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) in nearly all of the 63 countries and territories surveyed by Amnesty International. This includes countries, which may yet see the worst of the pandemic, such as India and Brazil and several countries across Africa. A doctor working in Mexico City told Amnesty International that doctors were spending about 12 per cent of their monthly salaries buying their own PPE.
In addition to a global shortage of supply, trade restrictions may have aggravated this problem. In June, some 56 countries and two trade blocs – the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union – had put in place measures to either ban or restrict the export of some, or all, forms of PPE or its components.
“While states must ensure there is sufficient PPE for workers within their territories, trade restrictions risk exacerbating shortages in countries that are dependent on imports,” Sanhita Ambast said, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic is a global problem that requires global cooperation.
In at least 31 of the countries surveyed by Amnesty International, researchers recorded reports of strikes, threatened strikes, or protests, by health and essential workers as a result of unsafe working conditions. In many countries, such actions were met with reprisals from authorities.
“Health and essential workers have a right to raise their voices against unfair treatment,” said Sanhita Ambast.
In addition to unsafe working conditions, Amnesty International has documented how some health and essential workers are being unfairly paid or in some cases not paid at all.
Likewise, Amnesty International documented several cases where health and essential workers experienced stigma and violence because of their jobs. For example, a nurse in Mexico was reportedly drenched with chlorine while walking on the street, and in the Philippines, attackers poured bleach in the face of a hospital utility worker.
These incidents point to a climate of misinformation and stigma and underscore the importance of governments providing accurate and accessible information on the spread of Covid-19.

Israel gifts medical supplies to support fight against Covid -19

Ambassador of Israel to Nepal Benny Omer today handed over medical supplies to the Health and Population Minister Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal, at the premises of the Health Ministry, to support Nepal's fight to contain Covid-19.
According to a press note issued by the Embassy of Israel in Kathmandu, the Embassy provided 550 units of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), 10,000 units of masks, 50 units of Infrared Digital Thermometers and 5,000 pairs of surgical gloves. “Additionally, hand sanitizers, hand sprayers and disinfectant solutions were also donated amidst a function at the Ministry of Health and Population," it reads.
"A friend in need is a friend indeed. Israel and Nepal are at the same side in the fight against this pandemic of Covid-19 to save lives," ambassador Benny Omer, on the occasion, said.
Accepting the gift of people of Israel, the minister Dhakal thanked on behalf of Nepal government. "I would like to thank the Government of Israel for your solidarity and support during our battle against Covid-19," he said, adding that sending these essential medical goods to ward it off gives a message that the Government of Israel and Israeli friends are with Nepal and Nepalis during this challenging time. "Together we can and we will win against Covid-19.”
This is a gift from people of Israel to the people of Nepal to help protect doctors, nurses and others, who work in the frontline to save lives of the patients suspected and infected with the virus, the press note reads, adding that the cooperation is manifestation of the Nepal-Israel friendship and mutual affinity to help battle against the spread of Covid-19.

Himalaya Airlines departs to Chongqing to bring Covid -19 medical supplies

Having operated four successful cargo charters to Guangzhou and Changsha over the last fortnight Himalaya Airlines is now operating a few more cargo charters to various cities in China this month.
The third city in a row is Chongqing where the airlines is operating two flights today and tomorrow, according to the airlines. “Both flights will ship back medical supplies essential to contain the spread of Covid-19.”
After operating scheduled flights to Beijing, the airlines had established scheduled connectivity with Chongqing as its fifth destination in China, on January 23, operating a weekly direct flight.
A320-214, 9N ALW departed Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu today and is scheduled to reach Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport midnight, a press note from the airlines reads, adding that the return flight is scheduled to take off at 04:35 hours (local time) the next day with medical supplies and is expected to arrive in Kathmandu at 06:30 hours.
“With recent surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country and the increasing need for essential medical supplies, there has been a sudden increase in demand for cargo charters and we are happy to have struck a deal for few more charters this month from different cities of China,” vice president of Himalaya Airlines Vijay Shrestha said, adding that Chongqing is one of the prominent destinations in China where the airlines had commenced flights just before Covid-19 outbreak. “We are eager to reconnect with the destination, albeit this time only for the cargo.”
Himalaya is committed to extending support to all stakeholders to meet the increasing needs of the nation for maintaining critical supply chains to battle against Covid-19,” he added.
The operating crew of the flight departed TIA complying with all the necessary health safety measures as per the directives of the government, the airlines claimed, adding that the aircraft is bringing Covid-19 medical supplies such as medical equipment, testing kits, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), masks, and gloves.