COVID-19 and its effect on Nepal
Due to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created widespread concerns in Nepal also. The impact has already started to surface in number of sectors like tourism, trade and production linkages, supply and health.
- Entire service industries: tourism, aviation and hospitality sector have been hit hardly by the outbreak.
- The hospitality and tourism related business sector, being one of the largest industry has been contributing 8 percent to Nepal’s economy. Likewise, cancellation of all spring mountaineering expeditions, including Everest ascents, has resulted job loss of thousands of tour, trekking and mountain guides.
- All the hotels are shutting down for next 6 months and the entire international and domestic airlines have been suspended for an indefinite period
- People’s lives in private and public sectors have been affected badly. Banks have already started suffering in loss of their investments in hospitality and aviation due to the coronavirus tourist slump.
- The informal economic sector has been devastated, increasing risks to those already in need . Daily wage workers, working class people in marginal economic situations and migrants are more dangers than the corona virus.
- The impact has been also visible in the manufacturing industries. As most raw materials including pharmaceutical chemicals come from China, supply of these raw materials has decreased drastically.
- Coronavirus’ effect on remittances is disastrous, the foreign employment has not only been addressing the Nepal’s unemployment issues but has also been contributing significantly to the country’s economy in the form of remittance. The money that labour migrants sent back in 2019 contributed 26 percent to the country’s GDP.
Donate To Volunteer Society Nepal
Our projects and staff survive because of tourism and volunteer labor and financial contributions. Under lockdown our revenue has vanished and we will not be able to operate our special needs and women’s centers any longer.
Underprivileged families rely on us for food aid, basic health care and free education, all of which we are struggling to maintain.
Furthermore, the 70 teaching and non-teaching staff employed in our Career Building International Academy Schools are totally reliant on their school salaries to support their families. As we are diverting funds towards getting food and water to those most in need, our funds are lessening fast and we need urgent financial assistance.