The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has hit Nepal with full force. The news about the humanitarian emergency in India are going around the world. Meanwhile, the situation in Nepal is at least as dramatic, if not more serious.
The number of new infections per day is currently about 9,000 (about 18,000 tests performed daily) – Nepal is thus ranked 9th in the world among countries with the highest number of new infections per day. It is estimated that there will be 800,000 cases by July. The already fragile health system is completely overwhelmed by this situation.
In the Kathmandu Valley in particular, hospitals are overburdened: there is a shortage of free beds, oxygen supplies and qualified staff. Test kits are running short and, according to Nepal, there is also a shortage of millions of vaccine doses, around 1.6 million alone for upcoming second vaccinations. The resulting risk of mutations is enormous – which in turn would have a major impact on pandemic activity around the world.
It is clear that the country cannot extricate itself from this predicament on its own. The prime minister has already asked the international community for help.
NGOs such as Long Yang e.V. and private individuals were able to help during the first wave with fundraising campaigns and the distribution of food packages and protective equipment to stabilize the situation to some extent. In the current emergency situation, however, civil society does not have the means to control an acute humanitarian crisis of this magnitude. Only with the help of government funds and the existing infrastructure, through rapid transport of necessary relief supplies and the coordinated deployment of experienced crisis helpers, the worst can possibly be prevented. Therefore, Long Yang e.V. has decided to launch an appeal and to ask the German government for solidarity – together with a number of other associations active in Nepal.
The letter was sent to the Federal President, the Federal Chancellor’s Office, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Construction and Homeland, the Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Defense, the Federal Ministry of Health, as well as the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development on May 14, 2021.
You can download the original document here.
We hope for a positive response from the German government with fast, urgently needed help for Nepal.
Fundraising campaign Covid-19 Emergency Aid for Nepal
The people of Nepal have been in acute distress since the beginning of the second Corona wave. Almost all districts are under a strict curfew. There is a lack of medical care and many are already running out of food. To survive this pandemic, people need all the support they can get from abroad. We have joined forces with the three other associations to help together. Help now
