Covid-19 and its impacts in Nepal: An exploration of sustainable development, intersectionality,and social justice approaches
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of International Relations and Diplomacy
Abstract
While the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are multiple, this study explores the
impacts on people’s income and its cascading impacts on four sustainable
development proxy indicators – No poverty, Zero hunger, Good health and wellbeing,
and
Quality
education,
consequently
affecting
Nepal’s
sustainable
development.
This
study
focuses
also
on
how
the
intersectionality
among
these
four
goals
is
becoming
visible
in
the
way
the
pandemic
is
affecting
the
lives
of
marginalised
communities,
especially
in
Nepal.
The
study
reviews
laws,
policies,
and
programmes
of
the
Government
of
Nepal
(GoN)
related
to
each
of
these
four
goals
to
investigate
the
prevalence
of
the
notion
of
resilience
in
these
policies
and
whether
and
how
have
they
considered
the
needs
of
vulnerable
groups
like
the
people
living
in
poverty,
workers
in
informal
sectors,
women,
people
with
disabilities
(PwDs),
and
those
from
minority
and
minoritized
communities.
These
laws,
policies,
and
guidelines
are
official
documents
of
the
GoN
to
understand
where
the
government
stands
in
terms
of
its
preparation
to
protect
the
vulnerable
communities
and
groups
in
crises.
Finally,
this
research
recommends
more
comprehensive
and
integrated
social
security
schemes,
such
as
insurance
and
immediate
cash
transfer,
with
special
considerations
for
vulnerable
populations
such
as
the
workers
in
informal
sectors,
the
poor,
women,
children,
and
other
structurally
and
systemically
disadvantaged
communities.
As
the
adverse
effects
of
the
pandemic
have
put
us
in
risk
of
increasing
and
widening
disparities
in
the
future,
my
recommendations
focus
on
dealing
with
terror
of
virus
at
present
by
building
socio-economic
changes
from
the
bottom-up
strategies
that
center
social
justice
approaches
while
making
policies
and
implementing
them.
Key words: COVID-19, sustainable development, social justice, social protection