COVID-19 Rapid Response for Nepal’s most marginalised — Street Child

From 24 March – 15 June 2020, the Government of Nepal enforced a national lockdown, triggering three months of restrictions on movement. This has had a disproportionate impact on the Terai Dalit communities where Street Child of Nepal works, with disruptions to learning and livelihoods forcing families to adopt adverse coping strategies against the risk of starvation. 

In April 2020, Street Child of Nepal conducted a rapid assessment to ascertain the impact of the COVID-19 crisis across the country. The assessment involved 1,090 respondents and revealed the greatest gaps in Province 2 of Nepal. 56% of respondents reported a loss of livelihoods and 70% reported hunger or starvation as key risks. The survey also showed that 68% of respondents had borrowed cash from friends or relatives, signalling a severe risk of forced labour and forced marriage including debt bondage for girls.

Street Child of Nepal’s Rapid Response Programme (RRP), funded through the UK government’s UK Aid Direct, is just one of the programmes currently being led in consortium with partners Janaki Women Awareness Society (JWAS), Aasaman Nepal (ASN) and Group of Helping Hands (SAHAS) Nepal in response to the highlighted gender-related impacts of COVID-19.