KATHMANDU, June 14: A national survey has shown that 53 percent of Nepalis have lost their jobs and 40 percent of them lost both jobs and income due to the recent lockdown.

A rapid survey conducted by Sharecast Initiative Nepal with support from UNICEF during the third quarter of May 2021 covered approximately 3,000 families with children from across the country.

Those who lost their income suffered loss in remittances, sales and other activities they used as a source of additional income, said the report.

The findings show that agriculture and tourism, the biggest employment generating sectors, along with people depending on daily wages have suffered significant economic losses.

Bagmati and Karnali appear to be most affected, according to the survey. “This large-scale job and income loss threaten to further deteriorate the socio-economic well-being of children and their families," the survey said in its findings.

It also cautioned that most families may reduce food intake and essential expenses, including nutrition and education for children.  About 99 percent of the families reported receiving no support to stave off the hardship, according to the survey.

UNICEF’s nationwide bi-monthly survey, Child and Family Tracker showed that over 60% of households with children experienced economic and livelihood losses in the first two months of initial lockdown.

Although most families with children were able to recover economically since then, 40 percent of them remained at risk of falling into poverty, the UNICEF survey said.

Using the survey’s evidence, UNICEF implemented emergency cash transfer in response to the emerging needs of more than 10,000 children. But UNICEF’s data also implies that many more children are in need. Children in families depending on daily wages and those who lost income/jobs will experience adverse effects of their caregivers’ financial situation on their education, health and psychological wellbeing.

UNICEF has appreciated the government of Nepal on the recent expansion of the Child Grant Programme and the increase in the Social Security Allowance  benefit size of up to 33 percent. "It is important to increase the amount of the transfer to deal with the additional stress caused by the pandemic," UNICEF survey said.

Published on: 14 June 2021 | My Republica