Context and intervention:

LIFE Nepal, an NGO based in Dhanusha district of Province 2, focuses specifically on the needs of girls, Dalits, Muslims, youth, and people with disabilities. It endeavours to build the capacity of communities through the transfer of modern technology, believing as it does that ‘information is the means of empowering people’. LIFE Nepal advocates on key issues such as the promotion of girls’ education, quality education for all, early grade reading, accountability of local governance, women and youth empowerment, provision of life skills and income generation opportunity to poor and marginalised communities, conflict resolution and peace building, cultural promotion through curriculum development in the local language, capacity building, resilience against climate change, and against gender-based violence.

To restrict the spread of Covid-19, the Government of Nepal called for a nation-wide lockdown in March 2020 and the local government, too, announced restrictions in movement that directly affected school-going children. In Province 2 alone, around 1,377,746 children (from 5,532 schools and 474 Early Child Development Centres) have been deprived of education. Many children are showing symptoms of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety disorders, and so on. There have been more than 200 suicide cases in Province 2 within the 6 months (from March to August), including some children.

In this critical situation, LIFE Nepal provided humanitarian support by raising awareness on Covid-19 through media and social mobilisation to make community people aware about the symptoms of Covid-19 and the preventive measures to be taken. In close coordination with the provincial government and UNICEF, LIFE Nepal started megaphone announcements on Covid-19 to reach communities without access to FM radio, television, or social media. LIFE Nepal also started media mobilisation, including public service announcements (PSAs) and talk programmes through 32 FM stations in Province 2. At the same time, LIFE Nepal broadcasted animated videos through local TV, started a Facebook account named ‘Covid Kura’ (Covid talk), and posted and disseminated more than 1 million informational materials (posters, flyers, display flex and hoarding board) in close coordination with local governments and service providers. LIFE Nepal was able to reach around 14,000 primary school children with the learning package and informational material. The SAC grant was used as a part of this larger project.

All the interventions carried out by LIFE Nepal have had a wide reach. More than 1,170,651 people have been reached through megaphone announcements and 320,000 through FM radio programme. Likewise, 78,000 viewers have been reached through social media and thousands of people connected with LIFE Nepal through Covid-19 response events. Provincial and local governments have appreciated the responsibility and rapid response undertaken by LIFE Nepal during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although the situation is far from normal, people have learnt to embrace safe behaviour like avoiding crowds, wearing a mask, and frequently washing hands with water and soap or using sanitiser. People have understood that preventive measures can be taken to combat Covid-19. Effort are still being made to reopen schools and to continue learning through alternative methods, but a lack of sufficient infrastructure and human resources makes these difficult. The situation remains worse for low-income families and it is likely that children will be deprived of education and nutrition, and they will probably have to forego education and instead enter the labour market, with the possibility of being abused and even trafficked. Hence, continuation of similar awareness-raising events for child rights during and after the pandemic would be a most needed action.