key: cord-1034230-l6ejagjo
authors: Uwishema, Olivier; Abbas, Kirellos Said; Torbati, Tania; Abdelrahman, Gana Hamed; Ajagbe͓, Abayomi Oyeyemi; Tariq, Rabeet; Sleiman, Hadi; Akın, Burak Talha; Onyeaka, Helen; Jain, Shubhika
title: The second wave of COVID‐19 hits Nepal: Burden for Nepal's healthcare system
date: 2021-10-01
journal: Health Sci Rep
DOI: 10.1002/hsr2.371
sha: adb29152323b3bc42351181b8789de18bda1b53c
doc_id: 1034230
cord_uid: l6ejagjo

nan

The lockdown has also brought about destructive social impacts, including unemployment, increased poverty, amplified inaccessibility to healthcare, and food unavailability leading to undernutrition. 11 Other major societal concerns include lack of access to maternity health, negative effects on education, reduced surveillance of routine immunization in children, increased domestic abuse, and inadequate obtainable medication. 4, 12 In addition, the prevalence of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and stress has escalated significantly. 5, 13 Closure of health services coupled with the lack of awareness, misinformation, and stigma associated with COVID-19 have instigated limited affordability and fears of COVID-19 transmission that further contribute to healthcare deficits. 6, 14 Just as the government began easing out of lockdown restrictions and reopening of factories, the increase in COVID-19 cases in Nepal from India has triggered an alarming concern among the people of Nepal regarding newly implemented lockdown regulations accompanying this second wave. In particular, such guidelines have left harsh effects on the economy. According to scientific literature, Nepal witnessed a negative economic growth of 1.99% last year alone. In addition, the Central Bureau of Statistics has reported that over 1.2 million people moved below the poverty line, and 1.5 million others became unemployed, of which 640 000 were migrant workers, and the rest were jobholders. 15 Moreover, 10.89% of manufacturers remain closed. 16 According to WHO, Nepal ranks as third among Southeast Asian countries for new COVID-19 incidents, with a 137% increase of

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