Sabotaged vaccine diplomacy and the way forward

The second wave of coronavirus that started in Nepal around April has devastated the country with significantly high numbers of infections and deaths per day. In the span of 5 weeks between April 1and May 7, 2021, there have been over one lakh known new cases. The daily cases soared from under 200 cases per day in the beginning of April to approximately 9000 cases per day at the end of the first week in May. Similarly, over 500 people have lost their lives since the first week of April (Source: Worldometer, JHU CSSE data).

A Deliberate off-priority is a crime against humanity

The government of Nepal under Prime Minister K.P. Oli has failed its citizens due to its lack of priority. While the government’s 100% focus should have been on fighting the coronavirus, the internal conflict within the majority Communist Party of Nepal led to the diversion of focus onto power-politics. The hypocritical government initially put out restrictions on publically organized health advocacy, but later the factions within the ruling party (Prachanda faction and Oli faction) rallied thousands of their supporters in different parts of the country displaying their power in an attempt to harass the other side.  The two major factions, which after the controversial Supreme Court ruling at back to being CPN-UML and CPN-Maoists parties, are still fighting over power and survival while Nepalis are dying amidst the second wave crisis. This is a serious crime against humanity by the Communist government.

Failure to manage critical resources

Despite substantial indicators on a second wave from around the world, the government failed to prepare for it. The recent loss of lives is primarily due to lack of availability and access to ICUs, ventilators and oxygen cylinders. All the efforts are now down to humane individuals and organizations who have taken over ad-hoc management of resources into their own hands responding to social media outcry. The government’s COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) has been largely reactive. Among many things, it could have continued the southern border management work which would have helped during the second wave, but no! It has failed to assess the COVID-19 risk factors and proactively manage them-the basic task for which it was formed.

Sabotaged vaccine diplomacy and the way forward

Recent events have indicated that an influential business group Hukam, which is allegedly close to the government, sabotaged the vaccine purchase process for commission’s sake which delayed the delivery of previously agreed upon vaccines by months. Here too, elements of, and those close to, the government have committed a serious crime against humanity. A timely transaction would have certainly made it possible for hundreds of thousands of Nepali citizens to be vaccinated making the fight against the second wave a bit less chaotic. Currently, thousands awaiting the second dose are in threat of time expiration, which would not only put those people in jeopardy but also further waste the country’s resources.

Our vaccine diplomacy has become a failure. The virus is here to stay for a long time whether we like it or not. While begging diplomacy may be the only way for a year or two, a future diplomatic  approach requires thinking in terms of purchasing the patents to generic versions and slowly building the capacity to produce and update vaccines for Nepal-specific strains. Unlike a polio-vaccine, which is a one-time shot, people would have to get updated COVID-19 vaccines at least once a year for several years from now. The government announced the formation of Centers for Disease Control (CDC)-Nepal in its last year’s budget. Therefore, such an approach would be a relevant base for a prospective CDC-Nepal too. On May 5th, the United States surprisingly backed the waiving of patents on COVID-19 vaccines brought about by India and South Africa that they previously blocked together with European Union, U.K, and Japan. Ultimately, when the world governments join hands on this pro public health matter, those who have the capacity to build will be on the winning side of the human-COVID-19 battle sooner.     

The government displayed immense pride in having invested its time and resources on the reconstruction of Dharahara tower among many other symbolic things. The major question from the public is, “Were those the current priority?” Oli’s hunger for self-glorification including prescribing unscientific/ unproven spices and fruits-based remedies to the general public against COVID -19 also shows how off the head of the government is from COVID-19 priorities. No wonder securing critical resources was nowhere in the priority. Systemic corruption has prevailed throughout the pandemic and no effort has been made to hold the concerned accountable. These are clear indicators of an unfit government under an unfit leader. It will be interesting to see if the prioritization of the erection of Dharahara over COVID-19 management is going to bring desired votes to CPN-UML in the next election.

Dr. Rana is Conflict Analyst and Public-Health Advocate