The COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: Emerging evidence on the effectiveness of action by, and cooperation between, different levels of government in a federal system

Authors

Keywords:

Coronavirus, COVID-19, Nepal, health system, decentralisation, decentralization, federal government, crisis

Abstract

A new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by a novel pathogen (SARS-CoV-2) spread rapidly around the world in the early months of 2020, and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March. COVID-19 has, and continues to have, large implications for individuals, societies, and for national health systems across the globe. Due to its novelty and impact, it has challenged all health care systems where the virus has taken hold.

The ways in which governments and health systems have responded have varied widely across the world. In the case of Nepal, the pandemic represented a major test for the newly decentralised health system, created as a result of the implementation of the 2015 federal constitution. This paper, which forms a part of our large on-going study of the decentralisation of the health system in the country, presents some of the early evidence on the effectiveness of the actions taken by Federal, Provincial and Local Governments and the levels of cooperation and coordination between them.

Author Biographies

Jiban Kumar Karki, School of Health and Related Research, The University of Sheffield

Jiban Kumar Karki is also affiliated with PHASE, Nepal

Nepal Federal Health System Team

The Nepal Federal Health System Team comprises (in alphabetical order): Shiva Raj Adhikari; Pratik Adhikary; Julie Balen; Surendra Bhandari; Sunita Bhattarai; Sujan Gautum; Sachin Ghimire; Jiban Kumar Karki; Andrew Lee; Sujan Marahatta; Sarita Panday; Simon Rushton; Sujata Sapkota; Padam Simkhada; Madhusudan Subedi; and Edwin van Teijlingen. More details about the project are available at https://www.nepalfederalhealthsystem.com.

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Published

2021-01-09

How to Cite

1.
Adhikary P, Balen J, Gautam S, Ghimire S, Karki JK, Lee AC, Marahatta SB, Pandey S, Pohl G, Ruston S, Sapkota S, Simkhada PP, Subedi M, van Teijlingen ER, Team NFHS. The COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: Emerging evidence on the effectiveness of action by, and cooperation between, different levels of government in a federal system. Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences [Internet]. 2021Jan.9 [cited 2024Mar.29];3(3). Available from: https://jkahs.org.np/jkahs/index.php/jkahs/article/view/311