Local response to the COVID‐19 pandemic: The case of Nepal
| Published date | 01 August 2021 |
| Author | Raju Mainali,Mehmet S. Tosun,Serdar Yilmaz |
| Date | 01 August 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1953 |
Received: 10 February 2021
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Revised: 21 May 2021
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Accepted: 1 June 2021
DOI: 10.1002/pad.1953
COMMENTARY
Local response to the COVID‐19 pandemic: The case of
Nepal
Raju Mainali
1
|Mehmet S. Tosun
2
|Serdar Yilmaz
3
1
Information Technology and Cybersecurity Department, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, USA
2
University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA
3
Decentralization and Subnational Governance Global Solutions Group, Global Governance Practice, World Bank, Washington, DC, USA
Correspondence
Serdar Yilmaz, Decentralization and
Subnational Governance Global Solutions
Group, Global Governance Practice, World
Bank, 1818 H St NW, Washington, DC 20433,
USA.
Email: syilmaz@worldbank.org
Abstract
Outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic is testing governments' capacity. Generally,
considerable attention is paid to the capacity and response of the central or national
governments; however, COVID‐19 pandemic is local in nature. Although central
authorities have important roles to play in COVID‐19 response, local governments,
being closer to people, are best‐positioned to form the first line of defense.
KEYWORDS
governance, local public service delivery, municipalities, Nepal
1
|
INTRODUCTION
In Nepal, the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has put the fledgling
federal system to a test. Nepal's federal system was put in place with
the adoption of the 2015 Constitution. After embarking on a full‐
fledged federal system after years of conflict, the country has made
significant progress in establishing key institutional structures, such
as provincial and local governments before the coronavirus
pandemic. These newly established subnational governments have
joined the efforts of the federal government to contain the spread of
the disease and limit the number of causalities.
In Nepal, the crisis highlights glaring weaknesses in the inter-
governmental system. Initial research highlights an alarming pattern
of high levels of cases and mortality among the younger cohorts of
the population (Banerjee et al., 2020). The recent upward trend in the
number of COVID‐19 cases is worrisome. However, the uptick in the
COVID‐19 cases is in localized clusters and there is a big variation
across provinces. For instance, there has been a flattening of cases in
Provinces 6 (Karnali) and 7 (Sudupashchim), whereas in Provinces 3
(Bagmati) and 5 there is an upward trend. Interestingly, there is an
increase in the number of women who have tested positive compared
to the initial period of the pandemic.
2
|
FEDERAL SYSTEM
Nepal is one of the most diverse countries in the world. There are
126 ethnic groups and castes speaking 123 languages as mother
tongue reported in the census 2011. The country is divided into three
regions by topography: the Himalayan (mountains), the hills, and the
Terai (plain land).
1
Nepal was engulfed in a decade‐long insurgency and bloodshed,
which led to the removal of the constitutional monarchy in May
2008. The 2007 Interim Constitution identified federalism as a so-
lution to the conflict and emphasized devolution of power to sub-
national governments. In line with the provisions of the Interim
Constitution, the 2015 Constitution established a federal democratic
state with three levels of government.
The findings, interpretations, and conclusions are entirely those of authors and do not represent the views of the World Bank, its executive directors, or countries they represent.
1
The upper caste people from Himalaya and hill regions dominate the political system, administrative machine, and business society of the country.
128
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Public Admin Dev. 2021;41:128–134. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pad © 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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