Impact of Covid-19 on Post Earthquake Recovery and Reconstruction (June 2020)

Like everywhere else, the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) - now a global pandemic - has had severe impacts in almost all aspects of life in Nepal. The vulnerabilities in Nepal (especially in 32 earthquake affected districts) were even more because of the ongoing recovery and reconstruction following the Nepal Earthquake 2015. The measures taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 pandemic - lockdown with limited mobility - have crippled lives and caused far reaching consequences in all sectors of the economy. The fear is that these impacts might seriously undo some of the achievements seen over the past years or seriously impede the progress of earthquake recovery by the disruption of the support, labor and material markets and supply chain.

This assessment with various post-earthquake recovery stakeholders was carried out to understand the impact of the COVID-19 on recovery and reconstruction in the 32 earthquake affected districts. Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform employed telephonic survey as the COVID19-safe means of data collection. The assessment findings and recommendations are expected to contribute in formulating strategies for the National Reconstruction Authority to move ahead with the reconstruction during and after the COVID-19 lockdown.