Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

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The immediate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Nepali Civil Society Organizations and their responses.

May 2020

Dipendra KC Bijay Bhandari Jaya Jung Mahat

Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | 1

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About Thammasat University, School of Global Studies (SGS) The School of Global Studies is a new and innovative academic initiative within Thammasat University and a front runner in social innovation within Thailand, Southeast Asia and beyond with a track record of excellent research on determinants of the public’s health, student-centered teaching, and academic service relevant to community needs. The School enjoys a unique position of being a national, regional and global focal point for global studies, human security, and wellbeing with collaborative relationships with academic and professional communities.

Vision Innovative Leadership to achieve sustainable solutions to complex global issues.

About Nepal Institute for Policy Research (NIPoRe) Nepal Institute for Policy Research (NIPORe) is an independent and non-partisan think-tank based in Kathmandu, Nepal. It aims to generate evidence-based debates among citizens and critical actors of development in both the public and private sectors on contemporary policy issues. Our team members represent the diversity of academic disciplines, professional backgrounds, and geography. We adopt a multidisciplinary approach in our analysis of policies and research, supported by researchers trained at universities and professional environments (from) across the globe.

Vision To generate data-driven public debates, develop and recommend implementable inclusive policy ideas to the Nepal Government and other major stakeholders on the country’s existing and potential future policies.

2 | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

Published By: Thammasat University School of Global Studies, Bangkok, Thailand Nepal Institute of Policy Research (NIPoRe), Kathmandu, Nepal Project Team Dipendra K C, Ph.D., Research Lead, Thammasat University Mr. Jaya Jung Mahat, Director, Nepal Institute for Policy Research (NIPoRe) Mr. Bijay Bhandari, Research Associate

Please direct the study related queries to dipendra@sgs.tu.ac. th Cite As K C, D., Bhandari, B., & Mahat, J.J. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations. Bangkok, Thailand. School of Global Studies, Thammasat University.

Design & Layout: Saurav Thapa Shrestha, Everything Creatives

Email: saurav@ everythingcreatives.com

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Acknowledgments The research team from the Thammasat University School of Global Studies and Nepal Institute for Policy Research (NIPoRe) would like to acknowledge their partners in disseminating the survey to local CSO leaders. Furthermore, the research team would like to recognize the International Society for Third Sector for starting the platform to share the response of the third sector to COVID-19 response. The team also thanks The Nonprofit Institute for sharing their survey instrument. We acknowledge the comments and recommendations of Sagar Gyawali and Kaushal Raj Sapkota in strengthening the survey instrument.

We also thank our research assistant Sangharsh Swarnakar for his constant support during data collection. We are thankful to Saurav Thapa Shrestha for designing the report. Finally, the research team, thanks to all the participating organizations.

Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | I

Table of Contents

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Table of Contents Overview and Background

1

Introduction

2

About COVID-19

2

Global Outlook

2

Nepal Outlook

3

Government policies on the role of CSOs in COVID-19 response

3

Civil Society Organizations in Nepal

6

Impact of the virus on Civil Society Organizations

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CSOs face significant disruptions in their services

10

CSOs project financial hardships

12

CSOs are concerned

13

Organizational challenges and areas with assistance need

15

Organizations are worried about the well-being of their

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constituencies CSO’s Response to COVID-19: Activism in the pandemic

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Recommendations and Conclusion

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Study Methodology

22

Quantitative Approach

22

Population and sampling frame

22

Sampling technique

22

Response rate

22

Data collection instrument

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Statistical analyses

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Vulnerability Index

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Qualitative Approach

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Sample Characteristics

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References

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II | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

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Table of Figures

Table of Figures Figure 1

Growth rate of the total number of NGOs in Nepal

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Figure 2

Quantile map of spatial distribution of NGOs per 10,000 residents in Nepal

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Figure 3

Functional distribution of NGOs in Nepal

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Figure 4

Province wise distribution of NGOs

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Figure 5

Annual registration trend of NGO and NFC in Nepal between 2006-2018

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Figure 6

Extent to which program and or services are provided

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Figure 7

Extent to which program and or services are provided by geography

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Figure 8

Likelihood of CSOs to provide services for their beneficiaries in 4 and 8 weeks

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Figure 9

Respondents “very unlikely” to provide services in 4 and 8 weeks by geography

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Figure 10

Likelihood of CSOs to fund payroll for 4 and 8 weeks

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Figure 11

Respondents “Very Unlikely” able to fully fund payroll in 4 and 8 weeks by geography

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Figure 12

Percent of respondents “moderately” or “very” concerned about financial outlook

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Figure 13

Relationship between CSO vulnerability and budget

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Figure 14

Civil Society Organization leaders’ top needs

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Figure 15

Civil Society Organization’s current response

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Figure 16

Sample map

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Figure 17

Provincial distribution of respondents (in percentage)

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Figure 18

Provincial annual budget of respondents

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Figure 19

Annual budget by staff size

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Figure 20

Percentage of respondent by organization type

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Figure 21

Percentage of respondents by functional sector

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Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | III

Table of Contents

IV | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

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1

Overview and Background

Overview and Background

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) are often at the forefront of crisis and are the early responders. The important role these organizations play during the crisis has been well documented (Johnsen & Stedronsky, 2017; Kämpe, 2018; Wendelbo et al., 2016). The role of CSOs during all phases of the earthquake aftermath, starting from the search-and rescue efforts to the resilience-building stage is well known(NGO Federation of Nepal, 2016). The nature of COVID-19 is far different from the natural disasters or any other crises humanity had faced this century. Civil Society Organizations faced dual pressure during the crisis; first, the demand for their services and support increased substantially in the communities they served. Second, their physical mobility was hindered by the government imposed nationwide lockdown.

In an initial effort to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the CSO’s ability to meet their community’s needs, School of Global Studies at Thammasat University (TUSGS) partnered with Nepal Institute for Policy Research (NIPoRE) launched a nationwide study on April 14, 2020. Nepal is well known for its vibrancy of civic space, a little over 54,000 NGOs are registered with Social Welfare Council (SWC), while the NGO federation of Nepal stipulates the number of active NGOs to be around 7,000. In addition, the number profit not distributing companies stands at 1,782. Similarly, numerous communitybased organizations that are not officially registered operate at the communities.

We invited a total of 488 randomly sampled CSOs to participate in the study. A total of 235 organizations from 64 districts covering all seven provinces participated in the survey between April 14 to May 1. The respondents comprised of NGOs (91%), federations and associations (7%), and profit not distributing companies (2%). Participating organizations also covered a broad range of functional areas, from human rights to research and reconstruction.

Key Insights 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Three out of ten organizations have completely stopped their services, while six out of ten responding organizations’ ability to deliver services and/or programs has been affected by COVID-19 and the rest are either providing their normal services or in a greater extent.

CSOs with relatively smaller budgets working outside the Kathmandu valley are relatively vulnerable and more worried than CSOs inside the valley.

Mobility of CSOs is limited due to lockdown, due to which CSOs ability to provide service to vulnerable population are severely affected.

CSOs need support in reevaluating their future directions in fundraising, financial scenario planning, technological upskilling and strengthening organizational resilience.

CSOs are responding to COVID-19 in numerous ways. Nine of ten responding organizations are informing their beneficiaries and communities on risks and steps to protect from COVID-19, six out of ten organizations are collecting some kind of data at the local level, five out of ten organizations are building coalition with other organizations for relief and support. Similarly, CSOs are coordinating with local governments for relief activities, combating fake news, and fundraising.

Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | 1

Introduction

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Introduction About COVID-19

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) is an infectious disease caused by a recently discovered virus from the coronavirus family. In the past, viruses from this group were responsible for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). COVID-19 and the related coronavirus were unknown before December 2019 (WHO, 2020b). Existing corpus of study indicate the details of the symptoms, transmission routes, incubation period, and the possibility of future mutation are still evolving (CDC, 2020).

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As of 10 May 2020, COVID-19 has infected more than 4 million individuals from 187 countries and regions (JHU CSSE, 2020)

The ongoing pandemic has affected almost all sectors across the world. According to the World Economic Outlook, the COVID-19 could shrink the global economy by three percent (IMF, 2020).

The official sources claim that the Chinese city of Wuhan first reported pneumonia of unknown cause to the WHO Country Office on December 31, 2019, which later was established as the first confirmed case of COVID-19 (WHO, 2020c). WHO declared COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on January 30. Similarly, to prevent and minimize incidents of hate and discrimination in the name of the virus, WHO announced a new name for the virus - the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on February 11. It was declared a pandemic on March 11, after it began to spread to most of the countries outside China.

Global Outlook

As of 10 May 2020, COVID-19 has infected more than 4 million individuals from 187 countries and regions. (JHU CSSE, 2020) While the disease has killed more than 270 thousand people around the world, about 1.2 million affected individuals have recovered in the past four months. The US, Spain, Italy, the UK, and Russia are the top five countries with the highest COVID-19 confirmed cases. On the other side, the US, UK, Italy, Spain, and France have reported the highest deaths from the virus.

According to WHO’s first and the most recent COVID-19 situation reports - the first report was released on January 21, and the 109th report on May 08, 2020, there has been a jump in total confirmed cases and total confirmed deaths by 13333 and 43245 times respectively (WHO, 2020a). It took 67 days from the first reported case to reach 100,000 cases, 11 days for the second 100,000, and just four days for the third.

The ongoing pandemic has affected almost all sectors across the world. According to the World Economic Outlook, the COVID-19 could shrink the global economy by three percent (IMF, 2020). Similar projections were made by the World Bank suggesting the global remittance to decline by about 20 percent in 2020 (The World Bank, 2020b). This fall in

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Introduction

remittance to the low and medium-income (LMICs) countries would be 19.7 percent. Europe and Central Asia are projected to witness highest decline followed by Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and East Asia and the Pacific. The pandemic has hit the global labor market at its guts. The most recent estimates indicate about 68 percent of the world’s total workforce being severely affected by the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and workplace closures. COVID-19 has affected almost eight out of ten (1.6 billion) informal sector workers in the world, causing a 60 percent decline in their income (ILO, 2020).

The ongoing pandemic has also severely hit the education sector. The pandemic has forced 177 countries around the world to impose country-wide closures of schools, thus affecting about 72.4 percent of the total enrolled learners and about 1.27 billion learners worldwide (UNESCO, 2020).

Similarly, the recent global report on food crises estimates an additional 130 million people will be pushed into acute hunger (WFP, 2020).

The latest estimates for the aviation industry indicate that 2020 would see 1.5 billion less international air passengers resulting in a loss of approximately 273 billion USD. Similar grim prospects are shown for the global tourism industry as well. International tourism has declined by one fourth in the first quarter of the year compared to 2019. The financial cost of the loss is valued at 80 billion USD as of March 2020 (ICAO, 2020).

Nepal Outlook

Nepal reported the first confirmed case of COVID-19 on January 24, in a Nepali student who returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan. As of 10 May (11AM Nepal Standard Time), Nepal has not reported casualties from COVID-19 even after conducting 16,309 PCR tests and 55,930 RDT tests.

Up until, Nepal has reported 110 confirmed cases and 31 recovered cases and incidents of re-infection among three earlier recovered cases. There are 14,592 and 143 people living in quarantine and isolation respectively. Since the identification of the first case, Nepal has reported at least one new confirmed case until May 9 (Mahat, 2020). The first confirmed case of local transmission was reported on April 4.

With this case, Nepal formally entered into the second phase of transmission. On April 11, three Indian nationals became the first set of foreigners to have been tested positive for COVID-19. On May 6, Nepal reported the most significant jump in confirmed new cases after the 17 new cases tested positive from one family in Parsa District.

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As a measure to prevent and contain COVID-19 in Nepal, the Government of Nepal imposed a nationwide lockdown effective March 24 (Pradhan, 2020).

Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | 3

Introduction

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As a measure to prevent and contain COVID-19 in Nepal, the Government of Nepal imposed a nationwide lockdown effective March 24 (Pradhan, 2020). Initially, the lockdown was announced for only one week, but after the country continued reporting new confirmed cases, the government has extended the lockdown. The country remains in the state of lockdown until May 18 (The Kathmandu Post, 2020).

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The World Bank estimates the remittance to decline by fourteen percent resulting in a loss of approximately 145 billion NPR in 2020 (The World Bank, 2020a).

Similarly, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) forecasts the country’s economy to grow at a rate of 2.27 percent in FY2020 (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2020).

The government has also taken additional measures to prevent and contain the virus in Nepal, including a nationwide lockdown, ban on all international flights (Onlinekhabar, 2020). Furthermore, school and college-level examinations have been canceled, visit Nepal 2020 has also been canceled (S. Prasain, 2020; The Rising Nepal, 2020). Similarly, the government has suspended issuing labor permits to the outgoing Nepali migrant workers from March second week onwards, among others (DoFE, 2020).

The COVID-19 has severely affected Nepal’s key sectors.

Some of the worst-hit sectors include - dairy sector, tea farming, advertisement industry, foreign aid receipts, SMEs, handicraft sector (Portel, 2020; K. Prasain, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c; Shrestha, 2020a, 2020b). The ongoing crisis also has hampered the government’s revenue collection targets in some of the most crucial revenue offices (Acharya, 2020).

The World Bank estimates the remittance to decline by fourteen percent resulting in a loss of approximately 145 billion NPR in 2020 (The World Bank, 2020a). Similarly, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) forecasts the country’s economy to grow at a rate of 2.27 percent in FY2020 (Central Bureau of Statistics, 2020). CBS has also projected contraction in Nepal’s key sectors – hotels and restaurants (-16.30 percent); transportation, communication, and storage (-2.45 percent); manufacturing (-2.27 percent); mining and quarrying (-0.69 percent) and construction (-0.31 percent).

However, other sectors are projected to witness growth during FY2020, including electricity, gas, and water (28.75 percent); fishery (7.17 percent); health and social work (7.07 percent); public administration and defense (6.91 percent); financial intermediation (5.15 percent); education (4.88 percent); real estate, renting and business activities (3.25 percent); agriculture and forestry (2.48 percent); wholesale and retail trade (2.11 percent).

Government policies on the role of CSOs in COVID-19 response

Meeting of the members of the cabinet on April 6, 2020, instructed the minister for women, children, and senior citizens to take Leadership in mobilizing the I/NGOs in responding to the pandemic. The meeting also instructed the minister to 4 | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

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Introduction

prepare a detailed action plan in protecting senior citizens and children during the crisis (Pandey, 2020). Subsequently, the ministry of women, children, and senior citizens (MOWCSC) issued guidelines for different stakeholders in supporting senior citizens during the pandemic. The directive mandates the CSOs to coordinate with the local governments in distributing reliefs and providing essential services to the senior citizens. Furthermore, it also encourages the CSOs to repurpose their existing programs to fight COVID-19 in consultation with donor agencies (Ministry of women, children, and senior citizens, 2020).

In addition to the directive from the ministry, the social welfare council released a series of guidelines and announcements for I/NGOs in response to COVID-19 (Social Welfare Council, 2020a, 2020b). These announcements encourage I/NGOs to raise funds, and SWC would speed up approval of COVID-19 related projects within a week.

Similarly, I/NGOs were requested to allocate 20% of their SWC approved budget towards COVID-19 response for a period of two months. SWC to approve the amendments within three days. The appropriated funds to be used towards procuring health equipment and relief to be provided in coordination with the local government following the standards issued by the ministry of finance. In response to the guidelines, some twenty-two INGOs and two dozen NGOs proposed approximately one Billion Nepali Rupees towards the pandemic (Bhatta, 2020).

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Civil Society Organizations in Nepal

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Civil Society Organizations in Nepal The size and scope of the Nepali NGO sector is a contested issue. The number of NGOs from Social Welfare Council is often used to denote the size of the sector. Nepal is home to some 29 million people and a little over 49,000 officially registered NGOs (Social Welfare Council, 2018).

Some unofficial sources claim that the number of NGOs in Nepal may be a little over 83,000 (ICNL, 2017). While more conservative number suggest the number to be somewhat around 6000 (NGO Federation of Nepal, 2019). There is no one credible centralized record of the total number of NGOs in the country. Despite the confusion over the exact number of NGOs, NGOs are well established institutions in the Nepalese society.

NGOs as actors in National Development Policies

1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

0

5000

10000

15000

Total Number of NGOs 20000 25000 30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

Figure 1 Growth rate of total number of NGOs in Nepal

Nepal started its planned development efforts since 1956.

Since then, country has seen fifteen periodic development plans. NGOs were included as key partners of development since the eighth (1992-1997) periodic plan. The emphasis of the eighth plan was to alleviate the poverty in the country and NGOs were considered as the partners in the developmental efforts of the country. Interim government of Nepal also introduced a 13-point policy on NGOs where government agencies were encouraged to coordinate with NGOs in rendering their services to citizens as well as encouraged to facilitate resources for NGOs (NPC, 1992) . Furthermore, the eighth plan also clearly outlined its directive for INGOs and NGOs to make them operate in rural and underserved communities. In the meantime, INGOs were encouraged to partner with the local NGOs to execute their programs.

Year Total

6 | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

Capital

Outside Capital

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Civil Society Organizations in Nepal

The national periodic plans, since the eighth plan have seen NGOs as crucial actors of development in Nepal. Country is now on the verge of implementing its fifteenth plan and NGO sector remains as one of the four major sectors along with the public, private, and cooperative sectors contributing to the development of the country (NPC, 2019, p. 52).

Quantile map of spatial distribution of NGOs per 10,000 residents in Nepal Quantile (4.604 : 7.014) (15) (7.793 : 10.323 (15) (10.458 : 13.118) (15) (13.295 : 18.121) (15) (19.331 : 84.908) (15)

Figure 2 Quantile map of spatial distribution of NGOs per 10,000 residents in Nepal

Figure 1 depicts the growth trajectory of NGOs in Nepal.

It took twenty-four years to have the first three hundred fourteen NGOs while the remaining NGOs were established within a matter of the last twenty-eight years. NGOs in Nepal are clearly the post- democracy phenomenon in Nepal. There was an explosion in the number of NGOs after the demise of totalitarian Panchyat regime of the country.

If we look at the spatial distribution of NGOs per 10,000 residents in Nepal (Figure 2), clearly the concentration of these organizations is in the capital city and its vicinity.

Northern regions of Western Nepal and the vicinity of the capital has the highest density of NGOs in Nepal.

Figure 3 portrays the sectoral distribution of NGOs in Nepal.

More than sixty-four percentage of the registered NGOs indicated that they were working for the community and rural development. Twelve percentage of the organizations reported youth services as their preferred sector of work. Seven percentage of NGOs reported as working in providing services to women or representing their rights.

Four percentage of organizations registered to work on the moral development. These numbers were followed by three percentage of organizations working in environment protection. Other sectors like child welfare, health services, disability, education, and HIV & AIDS control had less than two percentage of registered NGOs.

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More than sixtyfour percentage of the registered NGOs indicated that they were working for the community and rural development.

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Civil Society Organizations in Nepal

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Figure 3 Functional distribution of registered NGOs Community and Rural Development

64

Youth Services

12.1

Women Services

6.9

Moral Development

3.9

Environment Protection

3.3

Child Welfare

2.7

Health Services

2.6

Disability

2

Education

1.8

HIV & AIDS and Abuse Control

0.2 0

20

40

60

Percentage of NGOs

Furthermore, most of the NGOs affiliated with Social Welfare Council are based in Bagmati province followed by province two, province one, Gandaki province, five, Sudurpaschim, and Karnali province.

Figure 4 Provincial distribution of registered NGOs Bagmati

52

Two

14

One

8

Gandaki

8

Five

7

Sudurpaschim

6

Karnali

4 0

10

20

30 Percentage of NGOs

8 | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

40

50

9

Civil Society Organizations in Nepal

Meanwhile, profit not distributing companies are a relatively new phenomenon in Nepal. The company registration act of 2006 has paved a path for any institutions to be incorporated as a company. These organizations are incorporated to develop and promote any profession or occupation or to protect the collective rights and interests of the persons engaged in any specific profession or occupation or to carry on any enterprise for the attainment of any scientific, academic, social, benevolent or public utility or welfare objective on the condition of not distributing dividends. Since the promulgation of the law, between 2006 and 2018, 1,782 entities have registered as NFCs. Figure five presents the annual registration trend of NGO and NFC in Nepal between 2006-2018.

Annual registration trend of NGO and NFC in Nepal between 2006-2018 NGO

Profit Not Distributing Company 3000

2673

2878

2283 2123

2517

2204

1952

2043

1963

2500

2184

2297

2324

1940

2000

1500

1000

12

42

62

54

65

85

64

71

85

161

281

388

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0 2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Figure 5 Annual registration trend of NGO and NFC in Nepal between 2006-2018

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Impact of the virus on Civil Society Organizations

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Impact of the virus on Civil Society Organizations Civil society organizations working on the front lines to meet critical needs across the country are facing unprecedented disruptions on their efforts due to the unfolding COVID-19 crisis and the restrictions on movement imposed by the government. Despite an increased demand for services from the vulnerable people CSOs serve, the majority of CSOs had to reduce or cease to operate their programs and services.

As Figure 6 illustrates, eight out of ten respondents (69%) reported a reduction of normal services and nearly a third of respondents (31%) reported they were unable to offer any programs during the time.

CSOs face major disruptions in their services

Figure 6 Extent to which program and or services are provided

31%

31 %

30%

Extent to which program and or services are provided 25% 20% Percentage of respondents 10%

8% 5% 0%

To a greater extent than usual

“

Same as we always do

In a severely reduced capacity

In a moderately reduced capacity

Not at all

“Our organization relies on direct interaction with young people to strengthen their capacity and to learn from them. Amid the pandemic, almost all our programs have been halted and it has severely reduced our capacity to conduct the programs normally and it requires modification in the modality of our programs. We plan to conduct webinars and online training if this lockdown continues.”

NGO working with young people in Kathmandu

10 | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

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Impact of the virus on Civil Society Organizations

As illustrated in Figure 7, the disruption in the ability to deliver programs and services varies across geography. Nine out of ten organizations (90%) outside the capital city reported a disruption of some nature in their ability to deliver programs and services, at the same time, eight out of ten organizations (81%) were disrupted in the capital city. Similarly, more organizations in the capital city (10%) are providing additional services than outside the capital city (3%).

Kathmandu Valley

Outside Valley

34

33

34 30%

20%

10%

10

8

7

3

Percentage of respondents

25

23

22

Figure 7 Extent to which program and or services are provided by geography

0%

To a greater extent than usual

Same as we always do

In a severely reduced capacity

In a moderately reduced capacity

Not at all

We also asked the CSOs on the likelihood of them being able to fully provide their services within four and eight weeks.

Majority of respondents reported they are unlikely to provide their services and programs in full capacity within either four or eight weeks. In fact, as demonstrated in Figure 8, almost a quarter (22%) of the respondents reported they are very unlikely to fully provide their services. This response from CSOs is identical both within the capital city and outside the capital city.

4 weeks

8 weeks 40%

40

38

23

23

22 18

20%

15 10%

Percentage of respondents

30%

21

“

“Currently we have suggested our staffs to work from home and use online platforms to provide preventive messages to key populations on COVID-19. We provide antiretroviral to PLHIV clients who do not have sufficient dosage for lockdown period by contacting them.”

NGO working on HIV&AIDS prevention and care in Banke

0% Somewhat Likely

Somewhat Unlikely

Very Likely

Very Unlikely

Figure 8 Likelihood of CSOs to provide services for their beneficiaries in 4 and 8 weeks Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | 11

Impact of the virus on Civil Society Organizations

12

22 20% 19 17 Percentage of respondents

15%

10% Kathmandu Valley Outside Valley 5%

Figure 9 Respondents “very unlikely” to provide services in 4 and 8 weeks by geography

0% 4 weeks

8 weeks

This study also documents the short-term impact on finances and operation of the CSOs. These hardships represent the fear of not being able to pay their staffs on payroll to not being able to pay their rent. Figure 9 reports the likelihood of the respondents to fully fund their payroll for the next two months. Slightly more than a half of the respondents reported they are unlikely to fund the payroll for the next four (52%) and eight weeks (53%).

CSOs project financial hardships

“

As indicated by Figure 10, the financial concerns of the CSOs also varied by geography. CSOs operating outside the capital city are more unlikely to pay the payroll compared to the CSOs within the country’s capital. A little more than a quarter (27%) of CSOs outside the valley are very unlikely to fully fund their payroll in next eight weeks. This number is greater by five percentage in the capital city (22%).

“The offices are closed, so, we are unable to release salary to our staffs, and provide immediate legal and medical support to the needy beneficiaries.”

NGO working on human rights issue in Kathmandu

4 weeks

8 weeks

35 30

30

30 27

Percentage of respondents

20

23

21 17

18

10

0 Somewhat Likely

Somewhat Unlikely

Very Likely

Very Unlikely

Figure 10 Likelihood of CSOs to fund payroll for 4 and 8 weeks

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Impact of the virus on Civil Society Organizations

27

22

20%

19

Percentage of respondents

17

10%

Kathmandu Valley Outside Valley

Figure 11 Respondents “Very Unlikely” able to fully fund payroll in 4 and 8 weeks by geography

0% 4 weeks

8 weeks

CSOs are concerned We asked the CSOs to rate their different concerns stemming from COVID-19. As Figure 12 shows, organizations were concerned about the cancellation of their programs and subsequent decline in grants/income out of those programs.

Similarly, CSOs were also concerned if there would be delay in processing their existing grants. CSOs also expressed their concerns over decline in donations and in their ability to manage the operations of the organization. CSOs also expressed their concern over the government mandate for CSOs to provision twenty percentage of their resources in response to COVID-19.

Figure 12 Percent of respondents “moderately” or “very” concerned about financial outlook

Program Cancelleation

69

Delay in grant processing

67

Decline in donations

63

Layoff employees

62

Inability to pay operating expenses

60 0

20

40

60

Percentage of respondents

Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | 13

Impact of the virus on Civil Society Organizations

14

In addition, we constructed a vulnerability of CSO index based on their concerns over the above mentioned five items.

Organizations that expressed greater degree of concerns across multiple items would score higher in the index. A score of 1 would mean the organization is least vulnerable and a score of 5 means the organization is the most vulnerable.

As presented in Figure 13, we explored the relationship between the annual budget of CSOs and vulnerability.

We found that organizations with smaller budget tend to express more concerns than organizations with larger budget. While the statistical significance of the relationship was relatively weaker (R=-0.14, p=0.04), our in-depth interviews with the leaders of organizations showed a similar pattern. Furthermore, we noticed the differences in effect by geography as well. CSOs with relatively smaller budget outside the capital city were more vulnerable than organizations within the capital city.

Relationship Between CSO budget and vulnerability index by geography CSOs with smaller budget are relatively vulnerable

R = -0.14, p=0.044 5

4

Vulnerability Index

Kathmandu Valley Outside Valley 3

Budget in (Nrs. 1,00,00,000) 0 10 20 30

2

1 0

10

20

30

Budget (in crores)

Figure 13 Relationship between CSO vulnerability and budget

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Impact of the virus on Civil Society Organizations

Organizational challenges and areas with assistance need In addition to the financial and operational concerns, CSO leaders expressed the need of capacity building for their organizations. The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally disrupted the operation of the organizations in a way they had never experienced before. The pandemic exposed the underlying vulnerabilities organizations had.

A little more than two third (71%) of the responding CSO leaders expressed their desire to have support in financial scenario planning for their organization. Similarly, two third (65%) of the respondents sought support in enabling their organization to work remotely. Similarly, more than a half CSOs leaders also sought support in sharing realtime data with donors and funders (53%), capacity building support for their board of directors (55%), and some coaching sessions for leading in ambiguity (53%).

Government, donors, and funders willing to support CSOs are suggested to support in the capacity building of these organizations in the areas presented in Figure 14.

Top needs of CSOs Leaders Financial Scenario Planning

71

Technology Support

65 55

Guidance to board members Share realitime data with stakeholders

53

Coaching sessions for leading in ambiguity

53 49

Human Resource Management Reevaluating Fundraising Strategies

43 36

Wellness and care for our team Volunteer Recruitment and Management

34

Others

5 0

20

40

60

Percentage

Figure 14 Civil Society Organization leaders’ top needs Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | 15

Impact of the virus on Civil Society Organizations

Organizations are worried about the wellbeing of their constituencies

16

In general, CSOs have expressed grave concerns on the likelihood of underserved and marginalized communities being left out during the pandemic. Concerns of CSOs range from geographic marginalization, economic marginalization to social marginalization.

CSOs are fearful the crisis will affect marginalized and poor people to a greater extent. For example, an organization working in Sindhupalchok on child education of Majhi community is concerned that their beneficiaries would be left out during the relief distribution and other relief measures.

Similar concerns were also expressed by an NGO working on marginalized Harawa Charawa community of Saptari district.

“

We have been providing free legal services to the detainees and medical supports to the torture and rape victims. However, due to lock down the beneficiaries are not getting these supports.

The executive director of an alliance working against trafficking in women and children in Kathmandu expressed her concerns about her constituencies being left out. She revealed that “women who were working in the informal sector and entertainment sector are at great risk. The risks are greater partly because they do not have any financial means to support themselves as the whole nation has come to a halt. The risks of someone taking unfair advantage of these women are greater.”

Fear of marginalization based on ethnicity and language were expressed by several respondents. For example, the president of an organization working in the Panchthar district expressed concerns that marginalized indigenous communities who can communicate only in their mother tongue and are far from the reach of the government are likely to be overlooked.

Several CSOs were also apprehensive about the status of the victims of gender-based violence. The nationwide lockdown imposed by the government has forced the victim to live with the perpetrator. These concerns were expressed by the presidents of CSOs working in Humla, Dadeldhura, Sindhupalchowk, and Kalikot district.

“

Similarly, several CSOs expressed their concerns about people with disabilities, senior citizens, migrant workers, daily wage earners, single mothers, pregnant women, immunization of children, and several other vulnerable populations they serve.

As we are a youth led SRHR advocating organization, we are concerned about the LGBTI community who might be stigmatized and discrimination in the quarantine and while the treatment is happening. Similarly, young people with mental health issues could also be facing challenges during this time of lockdown.

Organization working in SRHR from Kathmandu

16 | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

17

CSO’s Response to COVID-19: Activism in the Pandemic

CSO’s Response to COVID-19: Activism in the pandemic State responses to the COVID-19 pandemic are fundamentally disrupting civil society globally. Often community-based organizations and citizen-led organizations are at the forefront of disasters as the first responders. Be it the earthquake of Nepal in 2015 or any other disaster country has witnessed in the near past. CSOs played an active role.

However, lockdowns and physical distancing measures have confined people to their homes and upending their ability to meet, organize, and advocate. Scores of CSOs reported putting their planned activities on hold; others are scrambling to shift their work online.

Foreboding though this picture is, many CSOs are rising to the pandemic challenge in myriad small and large ways. They are filling in gaps left by governments to provide essential services, spread information about the virus, and protect marginalized groups. Figure 15 presents the summary of response activities carried out by CSOs.

Responses from CSOs Inform public on risk and needed steps

90 62

Local data collection Online counseling/ Support Meeting/discussion with other CSOs

56 56 44

Relief distribution Monitoring gov. relief activities

34

Combating fake news

26 14

Fundraising Other

5

No activities

5 0

25

50

75

Percentage

Figure 15 Civil Society Organization’s current response Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | 17

CSO’s Response to COVID-19: Activism in the Pandemic

18

In the subsequent section of this report, we categorize the activities of Nepali CSOs in three broad categories. We investigate the response activities of CSOs as watchdogs, service providers, and advocates.

“

We have suggested the government to bring special relief package targeting senior citizens. We have also asked the government to ensure a steady supply of essential food items and financial assistance for people living in nursing homes. The government has agreed to announce a special relief package for senior citizens.

One thing, of course, not all civil society initiatives are inherently pro-democratic, and not all civic groups will play constructive roles in the crisis response. Yet the current surge in civic organizing nevertheless provides an opportunity to highlight the vital role of civil society in sustaining vibrant and healthy communities and democracy more widely.

1. Watchdog

Civil society groups are going beyond relief provision to spearhead efforts to hold governments to account for ineffective or undemocratic crisis responses. NGOs and other civil society groups voiced their concerns. More than one hundred fourteen citizens, including writers, social activists, researchers, and professionals, condemned the government for its lack of seriousness in responding to the crisis (SajhaPost, 2020).

In a separate instance, an organization working to promote child rights in Kathmandu initiated mechanisms to track and monitor the activities of local governments to ensure their services reach children in the communities. Similarly, a profitnot distributing company working in the accountability sector initiated an online communication campaign to document government response to the pandemic and made the information available online through an e-newsletter.

2. Service Provider

Despite a curb on movement, CSOs are providing essential humanitarian support to their constituencies. Several initiatives have spurred in response to COVID-19 across the country. Some efforts used digital technologies, while others are still offering their assistance in the field.

Numerous CSOs have followed the guidelines issued by the government and reported working very closely with the local government institutions. For example, CSOs from Parasi and Sindhupalchok district reported providing psychological counseling to people in need as well as donating cash and essential items like face masks to the local quarantine camps and hospitals through local governments. Similarly, a youth club in Bhaktapur installed water tanks in nine different places to encourage handwashing behavior.

CSOs are also repurposing their resources towards COVID-19 response. CSOs that were using FM radios and media

18 | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

19

CSO’s Response to COVID-19: Activism in the Pandemic

channels have changed their programming to respond to the pandemic. One CSO from Humla changed its anti-trafficking awareness-raising program to the COVID-19 awareness program. Similarly, a CSO from Lalitpur launched a new column in a newspaper, focusing mainly on the virus. Several other CSOs also reported instances of changes in their existing programming. One CSO from Kanchanpur changed current youth participation and volunteer mobilization program to COVID-19 awareness and support program.

3. Advocates

NGO Federation of Nepal participated and hosted several meetings with different government agencies since the pandemic unfolded. On April 7, a dozen CSO leaders organized a meeting with the minister of women, children, and senior citizens, where they committed to helping the state in responding to the crisis. On the same day, some sixty-nine CSO representatives met the member of the national planning commission (NPC) to explore ways to respond to the crisis. On April 9, CSO leaders participated in another meeting with the vice-chair of the NPC to foster a partnership between CSOs and government (NGO Federation of Nepal, 2020).

“

We assisted the municipality in making a 200bed makeshift quarantine hospital by donating cash and connecting other donors with four municipalities.

On April 9, nineteen civil society umbrella networks and federations issued a press statement appealing for the management of quarantine and isolation centers, provisioning essential health supplies including PPE and other relief packages for pregnant and women in their maternity, senior citizens, children, needy, landless, wage laborers, control of the spread of false information, and respecting the fundamental rights of the citizens.

In addition to these activities, numerous CSOs reported individual initiatives in representing the voice of the underserved communities. Several organizations resumed hotline telephone numbers to report issues of gender-based violence, violation of child rights, or even to provide free legal aid for marginalized communities.

Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | 19

Recommendations and Conclusion

20

Recommendations and Conclusion Civil society is on the verge of facing a significant disruption precipitated by the lockdowns and other forms of restrictions and the subsequent economic crisis that looms around. CSOs are likely to lose important sources of funding as foundations and governments slash their budgets. This might accelerate informal activism over formal activism. However, CSOs that are forced to scale down their activities will have to climb a steep curve to come back to normal life if the funding sources dry up.

Amidst the chaos, institutions supporting CSOs should make flexible assistance a priority. The time ahead of us is probably the best time for the aid providers to walk their talk. These aid making institutions have talked about flexible funding for local civic groups for a long time. However, in reality, only a tiny group of funders have held to their promises. The time to overcome old habits of requiring projectized assistance, cumbersome administrative requirements, and limited timeframes may be now. Aid providers should take on board the depth of disruption and listen to grantee partners and, together, explore how they can best help CSOs face the crisis, trusting they know best what is needed in their own contexts.

Another critical priority is to help civic groups connect effectively to government pandemic responses when needed and possible—or at least not be actively attacked and harassed by government actors. As they negotiate new assistance packages relating to the pandemic, funders should push governments to incorporate civic actors as implementing partners, particularly in areas where there is limited state presence or low public trust in the authorities. Similarly, public and private sector actors should create bridges for civil society to connect to larger pandemic-related support packages. CSOs should actively monitor these new assistance packages throughout the procurement and implementation processes.

Recommendation for CSO Leader

As Lewis (2014) suggested, CSOs are often at a pressure to demonstrate their activities and show their efficiency in order to maintain the attraction and to continue playing an active role in the third sector. Similar pressures have been wielded on Nepali CSOs by media, government, and public by framing them as unaccountable, elite, or foreign-sponsored actors disconnected from the communities they claim to represent. However, evidence from our empirical study suggests otherwise. Civic groups have stepped in to deliver essential services to affected communities and fill gaps in government responses and provide a hand in hand support with local governments.

Understanding the complex nature of the pandemic and careful interventions from the CSOs during this pandemic can help the sector to gain and strengthen its legitimacy.

Research suggests prepared and forward thinking board makes organization resilient during the crisis. We suggest the leaders of the CSOs take the following key actions (The Nonprofit Institute, 2020):

20 | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

21

1.

Recommendations and Conclusion

Reaffirm your Duty of Care for the organization by communicating a need for thoughtful, measured, and informed responses.

2. Identify the primary risks facing the organization due to social distancing on program participants and staff from missed work or reduced funding.

3. Communicate transparently and honestly about the expected impacts on your stakeholders and your organization. Speak honestly with your employees about their needs during this time. Create a culture of support and emphasize the need for open communication about employee needs. If cash flow becomes a problem, be honest with funders about your requirements.

4. Coordinate with the broader community, including other nonprofits, funders, vendors, staff, and local government, to understand how to support each other through this period of turmoil. If you find you have an excess of capacity or a resource you can share with a different organization (e.g., space, volunteers, employees, technology, expertise) consider making it available to others.

5. Keep your long-term mission at the forefront of decision making.

Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | 21

Study Methodology

22

Study Methodology

This study used a mixed-methods approach in understanding the impact of COVID-19 on CSOs and the response by these organizations. Our unit of analysis was registered CSO. We included organizations that are registered as non-governmental organizations, associations and federations, and profit not distributing companies in the study.

Quantitative Approach

Population and sampling frame We used the NGO affiliation registration database from the social welfare council, database of members of NGO federation, and the registration information of profit not distributing companies from the office of the company registrar. We merged all three databases, which resulted in a total of 57,967 organizations, 96.9 percent of the population were registered as NGOs, and the rest 3.1 percent were registered as profit not distributing companies.

Sampling technique We used a random sampling technique in identifying the organizations to participate in the survey. We used the following formula to determine the sample size: n=

z2p(1-p) e2

Where margin of error (e) was +/- 5%., the margin of error or often known as the confidence interval determines how much higher or lower than the population mean we are willing to let our sample mean fall.

A confidence level of 95% was used; this value indicates that our mean would fall within our confidence interval of +/-5%.

The corresponding z -score of 95% confidence level is 1.96.

We used a 0.5 standard of deviation (p) in calculating the sample size.

The formulae resulted in a sample size of 384 organizations.

Response rate We used KoBoToolbox to deploy a web survey. Board members and executive directors of the organizations were invited through an email to participate in the survey. A follow-up email was sent after seven days. In addition, participants of the study received a reminder phone call between the tenth and fourteenth day. A total of 488 organizations were invited to participate in the study, out of which 235 organizations participated. The total response rate of the survey was 46.10%.

We dropped 27 entries with incomplete information. We used a total of 208 valid sample organizations for the study. The response rate is slightly higher than 38.9% response rate of web surveys suggested by the literature (Baruch & Holtom, 22 | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

23

Study Methodology

2008). We believe a slight boost in the response rate was achieved due to the timely nature of the study and the availability of respondents online due to the lockdown imposed by the government.

Data collection instrument We adapted the survey instrument developed by the nonprofit institute of the University of San Diego (Deitrick et al., 2020). We added nine more questions to understand the characteristics of organizations from an earlier survey(KC, 2020). The survey was translated into the Nepali language, and the respondents were given a bilingual survey. The accuracy of the translation was checked by two independent researchers. Two organizations were asked to participate and provide feedback before deploying it to other participants.

Statistical analyses We used R to perform a statistical analysis of the data. We used descriptive statistics to analyze most of the variables. We have reported Mean and Standard Deviations of continuous variables, while frequency count and percentage are reported for the categorical variables.

Vulnerability Index We also constructed a vulnerability of CSO index, which accounted for the concern of CSOs on the loss of their revenue, having to lay off their employees, their concerns over delayed grant processing, concerns over operating expenses, and their concern over a decline in donations. The overall internal reliability of the vulnerability index was measured using Cronbach’s alpha. The Cronbach’s alpha of the index was 0.86, indicating excellent internal reliability. Furthermore, scatterplots were created to see the relationship between the vulnerability of the organizations and organizational characteristics such as age, size, and funding diversity.

We used Spearman rank correlation to measure the association between the vulnerability index and budget. The rho between two values was -0.14, and the P-value was 0.04. Spearman rank correlation is a non-parametric test that is used to measure the degree of association between two variables. The Spearman rank correlation test does not carry any assumptions about the distribution of the data and is the appropriate correlation analysis when the variables are measured on a scale that is at least ordinal.

Qualitative Approach In addition to the quantitative analyses, we also conducted five indepth interviews with the leaders of CSOs to understand the effect of COVID-19 on myriad aspects of their organization. The interviews were conducted after the preliminary analysis of survey data. Each interview lasted between 30-40 minutes. The interviews were conducted by the principal investigator and a research assistant helped in taking notes.

The researchers then used the qualitative interview data to triangulate the validity of information collected from the survey.

Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | 23

Sample Characteristics

24

Sample Characteristics Districtwise Sample Map (64 districts)

20 15 10 5

Figure 16 Sample Map

Provincial Distribution of Respondents (in percentage) Survey Respondents

37

4 out of 10 respondesnts are from Bagmati

30%

Percentage of respondents

20%

10%

11 6

12

12

One

Two

14

8

0% Gandaki

Karnali

Sudurpaschim

Five

Figure 17 Provincial distribution of respondents (in percentage)

24 | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

Bagmati

25

Sample Characteristics

Provincial Annual Budget of Respondents Budget by province (in crore NRs.) 0

1.61

0

1.8

15

Two 8

Sudurpaschim

One

Average 0.03 1.34

4.92

0.04

Gandaki

37

25

2.72

0.02 1.88

Five

Bagmati

Maximum

9

0

Karnali

Lowest

0

2.66

0

3

18

25

6

9

12

15

18

21

24

27

30

33

36

39

Figure 18 Provincial annual budget of respondents

Annual Budget by Staff Size Budget by size of CSO 25-50

0.15

4.05

19.45

Average

1.43

>50

<25

9.23

0 0.98

0

Highest

Lowest

37

9

3

6

9

12

15

18

21

24

27

30

33

36

39

Figure 19 Annual budget by staff size

Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations | 25

Sample Characteristics

26

Percentage of respondent by organization type Survey Respondents

9 out of 10 respondents are NGOs

91%

75

50

25

7%

2%

0 Association and Federation

NGOs

Profit Non-distributing Company

Figure 20 Percentage of respondent by organization type

Percentage of respondents by functional sector Social Awareness

16.3

Rule of Law, Good Governance, Human Rights

9.6

Promotion of Gender Equality and Social Justice

8

9.6

Other

9.1

Livelihood Program

9.1

Social Development

7.2

Social Mobilization

5.8

Community Development

5.8

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

3.8

Advocacy

3.8

Environment Protection and Climate Change

3.4

Capacity Building

3.4

Income Generation Program

2.9

Research

2.4

Disaster Management

2.4

Poverty Alleviation

1.9

Natuiral Resource Managment and Preservation

1

Humanitarian Support

1

Reconstruction

0.5

Protection of Consumer Rights

0.5

Physical Infrastructure Development

0.5

Figure 21 Percentage of respondents by functional sector

26 | Impact of COVID-19 on Nepali Civil Society Organizations

27

References

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Acharya, S. (2020). Lockdown hits revenue collection at Birgunj Integrated Check Post. The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved from https://tkpo.st/2yi19Og Baruch, Y., & Holtom, B. C. (2008). Survey response rate levels and trends in organizational research. Human Relations, 61(8), 1139-1160. doi:10.1177/0018726708094863 CDC. (2020). Frequently asked questions: Coronavirus disease 2019. Retrieved from https://www. cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html Central Bureau of Statistics. (2020). National financial statistics for FY 2076/2077. Retrieved from https://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/upLoads/2020/04/CBS-GDP-Press-Release-2077-117-new.pdf Deitrick, L., Tinkler, T., Young, E., Strawser, C. C., Meschen, C., Manriques, N., & Beatty, B. (2020).

Nonprofit Sector Response to COVID-19. The Nonprofit Institute, University of San Diego.

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Kämpe, J. (2018). Recovery Networks - governance of non-governmental organizations in postearthquake Nepal. (Master). Lund University, Retrieved from http://lup.lub.lu.se/studentpapers/record/8959244 KC, D. (2020). Determinants of Innovation in Nonprofits. Research. School of Global Studies.

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