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NEPAL ECONOMIC FORUM
DOCKING NEPAL’S ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
HEALTH HEALTH The vaccination campaign by the Government of Nepal (GoN) has been picking up its pace through procurement of various vaccines, and donations from the COVAX scheme. The country is facing a shortage of medical staff, medical equipment, and resources that are needed to be prepared for an inevitable third wave of COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdowns have affected the treatment of chronic diseases as well as maternal and infant healthcare in the country. PROCUREMENT OF HEALTH SUPPLIES AND VACCINATION AND IMMUNIZATION Vaccine and medical supply procurement: Government of Nepal
(GoN) has initiated a procurement of 6 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech to be administrated to children above 12.154 An agreement to procure an additional 4 million doses of Moderna vaccine, suitable for children aged 12 to 17 years, through the COVAX cost-share option has been reached.155 A deal to purchase 6 million doses of Vero Cell Vaccine from China is also underway;156 1.6 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine are set to arrive from Japan through the COVAX facility, the UNbacked international vaccine sharing scheme.157 Government of Bhutan has supplied Nepal with 230,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.158 The World Bank has signed an agreement with GoN to provide NPR 17.8 billion (USD 150 million) concessional loan to support Nepal in its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.159 Similarly, the Asian Development Bank has approved a loan of NPR 19.6 billion (USD 165 million) to Nepal for vaccine
procurement.160 Project HOPE, which focuses on global health and humanitarian relief, along with partner organizations has provided gowns, face shields, masks, personal protective equipment (PPE) coveralls, and gloves worth NPR 78.6 million (USD 660,000) to PratimaNeema Memorial Foundation in Rupandehi district to prepare them for the third wave of Covid-19.161 Government of Israel and the Nepali community in Israel have provided ventilators, oxygen concentrators, masks, and PPEs to the Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal.162 As per Nepal Rastra Bank, Nepal imported medical equipment worth NPR 15.24 billion (USD 127.9 million) during the first 11 months of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020/21, which represents an 88% increase compared to the same period in FY 2019/20163. NEW DEVELOPMENTS Telenursing: COVID-inspired remote healthcare: The COVID-19 Special
Nurse Group is a group of nurses gathered from every province in Nepal providing telenursing through 24-hour telephonic counseling to COVID-19 patients. The team of
seven local coordinators and seven counselors has reached more than 700 patients and benefitted 900 cases of COVID-19. They are providing orientation to different organizations at the local level, such as Kadam Nepal and YOSHAN, regarding proper care during home isolation and preventing infection. The group has trained 1,200 health workers through 15 online vaccination training sessions. They have also expanded to advocate and facilitate stress management sessions to more than 147 frontline health workers.164 Anti-cancer drug manufacturing in Nepal: Tizig Pharma Private Limited
has commenced the production of an anti-cancer drug in Nepal, which is expected to be available in the market within August 2021. It has received approval for 15 molecules to manufacture anti-cancer drugs from the Department of Drug Administration. These drugs are expected to be cheaper than imported ones.165 The average annual direct cost of cancer care for an individual in Nepal is NPR 387,000 (USD 3249), which is far above the average annual income of NPR 78,946 (USD 662.8). For many cancer patients in Nepal, medical expenses are huge stressors
