Kathmandu 2 July 2021. NGO Federation of Nepal (NFN) organized a virtual discussion meeting to analyze the government's ‘Ordinance for COVID-19 Crisis Management, 2021’. More than 70 civil society leaders joined the meeting. An analysis of the ordinance presented by NFN's President Mr. Jit Ram Lama was followed by the comments and views of the participants. Government of Nepal introduced on 20 May 2021 the ‘Ordinance for COVID-19 Crisis Management, 2021’ to strengthen the COVID-19 prevention and response activities. The Ordinance has provisioned health emergency declaration, unified central hospitals, COVID-19 crisis management center, federal, provincial and district committees, and provisions related to fund and procurement management, monitoring, and safety of health workers. It also sets the crimes and punishment in terms of the COVID-19 prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment. The unilateral efforts made by government may not be sufficient to control the spread and treatment of Covid-19. But the organizational structures envisaged by the ordinance do not recognize the roles and participation of the civil society organizations in the crisis management. It is against the spirit of the UN Sendai Framework 2015-2030 which Nepal has endorsed. The ordinance has put great impetus on the federal government; whereas it provides the nominal roles and functions to the provincial, and local governments in control and prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic. The restrictions on the grounds of Covid-19 may curtail the fundamental rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of association which should not even be curtailed in the general emergency. The ordinance sets the provisions of punishment if the activities towards the prevention and control of the coronavirus are violated. But the seriousness of crime and punishment are not proportionate, and the level of authority to Chief District Officers in this case. The ordinance has undermined the transparency and accountability provisions. It does not articulate accountability mechanisms and punishment to the authorities if they fail to fulfill their responsibilities. The participants of the meeting strongly raised that the ordinance fails to include the civil society participation and role, and even ignores the associated government agencies for Covid-19 control as well as disaster management. While the Covid-19 is also a sort of disaster and could be managed by activating National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, its role is not properly recognized. Fighting disasters is the common responsibility of all tiers of government but the province and local governments are like the implementers. Other aspects unaddressed by the ordinance are vaccines, psychosocial supports, education, transportation and communication. It was concluded that civil society organizations will continue advocacy for securing the constitutionally provisioned space for civil society and guarantee of the fundamental rights. Regular monitoring, support and collaboration with the government, and support to the vulnerable and marginalized communities will be continued by CSOs. Likewise, enhancing capacity and accountability of local governments should also be the agenda of CSOs. Regardless of the fact that the government did not facilitate or provide space to CSOs during the pandemic and also did not the prioritize the CSO frontline workers for vaccine, CSOs’ contribution is remarkable. Nevertheless, CSOs’ contributions still need to be well-documented. In fact, it was not lack of resources with the government thereby the necessity of resources from CSOs, but inability to utilize, manage and mobilize the existing resources and mechanisms of the government. President of National Cooperative Federation Mr. Min Raj Kadel, Executive Chair of Dalit NGO Federation Mr. Bhakta Bishwakarma, President of Community Electricity Users' Federation Mr. Narayan Gyawali, Mr. Bishnu Pokhrel of JuRI Nepal, Chair of DPNET Mr. Surya Bahadur Thapa, Executive Director of AATWIN Ms. Benu Maya Gurung and civil society activist Mr. Tanka Aryal were among the speakers. The meeting was facilitated by Mr. Arjun Bhattarai, Deputy Secretary General of NFN and context and objectives of the meeting were highlighted by Mr. Ram Subedi, Secretary General of NFN.
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