Efforts and Challenges in the COVID-19 mitigation in Nepal

Nepal is a Himalayan country with a population of 29,136,808 scattered over 7 provinces and 77 districts. The healthcare system of Nepal covers about 61.8% of the population. Nepal is one of the first countries in the South Asia region to have reported COVID-19 on January 23, 2020.1 There has been an increasing number of COVID-19 cases totaling up to 265,488 with 1,937 deaths (case fatality rate = 0.73) on January 12, 2021. COVID-19 cases and deaths have been reported in all provinces and districts, with highest number in Bagmati province and Kathmandu, the capital city.2 At the national level, clinical and public health management of COVID-19 cases is headed by Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) with the primary aim of reducing disease spread and mortality. This article describes the challenges faced by Nepal and the efforts taken by MoHP in the management of this pandemic.