My Republica

SHREE RAM SUBEDI

The author is a special correspondent with Republica.
srsubedi@gmail.com

Air pollution kills 37,399 people per year in Nepal: Study

Published On: November 23, 2019 07:16 AM NPT By: SHREE RAM SUBEDI

KATHMANDU, Nov 23: Kathmandu sees a sharp rise in air pollution levels during winter months. The city is enveloped in dust and smoke. The seven Air Quality Monitoring Stations, spread across the Valley, have already begun showing “unhealthy” Air Quality Index (AQI) readings, as evident in the data of the last seven days.

Read More

Nepal's wetlands: Everybody's business is nobody's business

Published On: November 17, 2019 06:57 AM NPT By: SHREE RAM SUBEDI

KATHMANDU, Nov 17: Wetlands cover around 6 percent of Nepal's surface area and more than 21 ethnic communities rely on these for their livelihood. They are also a lifeline for the ecosystem. However, there are no proper laws and regulations to manage them.

Read More

Nepal set to unlock World Bank’s Forest Carbon Money

Published On: November 8, 2019 07:38 AM NPT By: SHREE RAM SUBEDI

KATHMANDU, Nov 8: After decade-long preparations, Nepal is set to sign a deal next month with World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) unlocking potentials to attract up to US$ 45 million until 2025. The Emissions Reduction Payment Agreement (ERPA) will help the government, communities, and stakeholders to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.

Read More

Patients made to pay illegally for vital self-dialysis fluid

Published On: October 31, 2019 07:04 AM NPT By: SHREE RAM SUBEDI

KATHMANDU, Oct 31: Despite a government decision of 2016 to provide free dialysis for those with chronic kidney disease, it has been found that patients are forced to pay a certain amount themselves to meet the cost of peritoneal dialysis.

Read More

Breaking the gender binary is not easy, even in census

Published On: October 23, 2019 07:46 AM NPT By: SHREE RAM SUBEDI

KATHMANDU, Oct 23: As the sexual and gender minorities eagerly await the 2021 National Census to further their identities, a dilemma exists among government officials whether the census is the right methodology to reflect their population status.

Read More

2021 national census to cost Rs 5b; 2.3 times more than previous one

Published On: October 21, 2019 11:36 AM NPT By: SHREE RAM SUBEDI

KATHMANDU, Oct 21: In its attempt to make the 2021 national population census more scientific and accurate, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) will not be using the sampling method. Instead, the enumerators will be visiting all households across the country to collect census data. As a result, the census will be much costlier than the previous ones due to a huge manpower requirement.

Read More

After six decades and billions spent poverty alleviation remains a far cry

Published On: October 17, 2019 07:18 AM NPT By: SHREE RAM SUBEDI

KATHMANDU, Oct 17: Billions of rupees have been spent in the last six decades in the name of the poor and various training. However, nearly one-fifth of Nepal’s population lives below the poverty line (those earning less than $1.90 per day, as per the World Bank).

Read More

2 Nobel laureates have some Nepal connection

Published On: October 15, 2019 09:52 AM NPT By: SHREE RAM SUBEDI

KATHMANDU, Oct 15: Two of the three winners of this year’s Nobel Economics Prize have some Nepal connection. Three eminent US-based development economists-- Abhijit Banerjee and his wife, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer bagged the coveted prize on Monday for their work in fighting poverty that has helped millions of children around the world. Duflo is the second woman to win the Economics Nobel.

Read More

Corruption rife in billions that govt spends on free kidney care

Published On: October 2, 2019 07:28 AM NPT By: SHREE RAM SUBEDI

KATHMANDU, Oct 2: The government is spending billions on free dialysis for patients with chronic kidney disease. But it is learnt that there is no standard operating procedure and hospitals are suspected of financial irregularities while claiming reimbursement from the government.

Read More

Multi-billion-rupee health insurance scheme in crisis

Published On: September 23, 2019 09:20 AM NPT By: SHREE RAM SUBEDI

As Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Upendra Yadav is representing Nepal at a two-day UN General Assembly’s high-level meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in New York beginning Sunday, it has been learnt that billions of rupees meant for health insurance in Nepal goes unspent every year and the much-hyped health insurance initiative is already in crisis due to the lack of efficient delivery, outreach capacity, and alarming dropout rates.

Read More

‘Over 70% multi-billion rupee anti-poverty training went to party henchmen’

Published On: September 19, 2019 07:13 AM NPT By: SHREE RAM SUBEDI

KATHMANDU, Sept 19: A multi-billion rupee micro-enterprise project for eradicating poverty through micro-entrepreneurship and employment generation was established in 1998. The program is now mired in political mess and woefully inept record-keeping. Data on the entrepreneurs has not been updated for several years.

Read More

How do you measure happiness? CBS is struggling to find answers

Published On: September 12, 2019 06:15 AM NPT By: SHREE RAM SUBEDI

KATHMANDU, Sept 12: The government's desire to measure happiness is moving at a slow pace due to the lack of homework and planning. The government has declared to conduct an integrated happiness survey this year in line with its slogan of “Prosperous Nepal and Happy Nepali” and budget was allocated for the ongoing fiscal year. A steering committee and another technical committee are to be formed to begin the work.

Read More

Just In