A system that failed in the fight against pandemic

Failure to empower sub-national governments and political games in Kathmandu impacted provinces, thereby deepening the virus crisis, experts say.

That the Covid-19 crisis has deepened with a more contagious and lethal second wave overwhelming the country, questions are now being raised at the federal government in Kathmandu over its spectacular failure to foresee it despite continuous warnings by public health experts and doctors. Many, however, also say that had the federal system–provincial governments for that matter–been strengthened, the crisis could have been averted to some extent.