Highlights
- Australians urge federal government to provide immediate support to Nepal
- An online petition calling for government help has been signed by nearly 4,000
- Minister David Coleman has written to foreign minister Marise Payne for the same
Numerous individuals and community groups in Australia are calling on the federal government to provide urgent medical assistance to Nepal as the country grapples with an unprecedented second wave of COVID-19 infections.
, there are more than 113,000 active coronavirus cases and more than 5,200 people have lost their lives – a number that has increased significantly since the second wave of the pandemic took hold of the country in April.
Sara Beysolow Nyanti, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Nepal, tweeted “some Nepalis can’t breathe” and has called for help with the supply of medical oxygen in the country.
In a latest published by Ms Nyanti’s office, the world body has highlighted an “urgent need for vaccines and essential lifesaving commodities, including oxygen and critical care supplies.”
The report elaborated on Nepal’s “insufficient capacity to screen, test and monitor inflow of returnee migrants from India.”
Public health experts have in the screening of people returning from COVID-hit India for the disaster Nepal currently finds itself in.
Sara Beysolow Nyanti met with Caretaker Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli to discuss the country’s COVID-19 crisis. Source: UN Nepal
Meanwhile, nearly 4,000 people have signed an urging the Australian government to help Nepal.
The petition calls on Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne for help and “to lead the way and organise essential support to be flown to Nepal as soon as possible.”
“The people of Nepal need Australia’s help now. We can do this. We must do this,” it adds.
Victorian resident Cathy Bucolo has started this petition.
A speech pathologist, Ms Bucolo has been to Nepal seven times since 2000 in various capacities including volunteering as a health professional.
Cathy Bucolo is urging the Australian government to provide medical assistance to Nepal. Source: Cathy Bucolo
She says she is very concerned about the “unfolding catastrophe” in the country she loves and had decided to start the petition after seeing support provided by the Australian government to India.
“I’m not an expert, but with experts now pointing out that what was happening in India is now happening in Nepal, I thought we need to ask the Australian government to provide the same support (to Nepal),” Ms Bucolo told SBS Nepali.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne during Senate Estimates at Parliament House in Canberra. Source: AAP
It was part of the Morrison government’s $37.1 million support package to India.
“Australia has now delivered over 15 tonnes of medical supplies to India, including over 2,000 ventilators and more than 100 oxygen concentrators,” the statement said.
Health Minister Hunt also said the government “stands ready to offer further emergency medical supplies if requested by the Indian Government”.
Last week, Nepal’s Caretaker Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli also for assistance to tackle the crisis.
SBS Nepali has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to seek comment about sending help to Nepal. Their response is still awaited.
Federal minister comes out in support
David Coleman, who is the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, has lent his support to the call of assistance by members of Australia’s Nepali community.
His Sydney electorate of Banks is home to the second-largest Nepali-speaking community in Australia.
In a letter to foreign minister Payne, Mr Coleman, former immigration minister of Australia, relayed the concerns of his electorate.
Dr Krishna Hamal (left) from FeNCAA and other Nepali community representatives with David Coleman (centre). Source: Supplied by FeNCAA
“I write to you to pass on the concerns of the Nepalese Australian Association and their request for the provision of medical supplies to Nepal,” Mr Coleman wrote.
The Nepalese Australian Association is one of many Nepali community groups to express their concerns about the impact of COVID-19 in the country of their birth.
A delegation of various community representatives including Dr Krishna Hamal, the general secretary of the Federation of Nepalese Community Associations of Australia (FeNCAA), met Minister Coleman this week.
In a letter addressed to PM Morrison, FeNCAA wrote, “Australia is a great supporter of Nepal and has been continuously supporting Nepal's longer-term economic development. Recently, a generous response to the devastating 2015 earthquake was exemplary and is greatly appreciated.”
The community group has called on the government to provide Nepal with immediate support including essential medical equipment, resources and COVID-19 vaccines.
“Most Nepalese Australians have their close relatives, including parents and siblings, in Nepal and they are severely affected by the second wave of the pandemic. Some of them have already lost their lives,” the letter by FeNCAA stated.
Labor MP urges government to step up
Meanwhile, federal Labor MP Peter Khalil, also the co-chair of the Nepal Parliamentary Friendship Group, has called on the Australian government to “step up and provide much-needed support, to help health authorities get the outbreak under control.”
“This isn’t just because it’s the right thing for us to do, but also because it’s the smart thing to do,” Mr Khalil told SBS Nepali.
“We need to tackle COVID outbreaks globally to reduce infections, more quickly roll out vaccines, and prevent the rise and spread of variants.
Labor MP Peter Khalil has called for the government to provide health support to Nepal. Source: AAP Image/ Joel Carrett
“I want members of the Australian-Nepali community to know that they haven’t been forgotten,” he added.
Supporting Nepal over curry and dumplings
Sydney resident Rahindra Shrestha is among those directly impacted by the escalating coronavirus situation in Nepal.
The Nepal-born Mr Shrestha recently lost his aunt and cousin to COVID-19 back home.
He said that having been able to control the spread of the virus successfully and maintain its economic progress, Australia should now help countries like Nepal.
Mr Shrestha has teamed up with two other members of the community to organise a virtual momo-eating event to raise funds for Nepal.
Momo is the Nepali version of the dumpling that originated in Tibet.
Through this, Mr Shrestha says they aim to set a record for the largest group of people eating momos together in an online event scheduled for the next weekend.
Various types of momos being served during the 2017 Momo Festival in Melbourne. Source: Solangture
This week will also see ‘Australia’s Biggest Curry Night’ being hosted to assist Nepal.
The Australian Himalayan Foundation is organising this annual event to help raise funds for their ongoing health, education and environmental projects, while also responding to the country's coronavirus crisis.
The theme for the curry night this year is “Let’s take the heat off the Himalaya”.
The foundation's chairman Simon Balderstone said, “every partner, project and community we work with in Nepal, is directly impacted by the COVID pandemic and the lockdown.”
In 2020, the foundation teamed up with their local partner on a “rapid COVID response project” to source and deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) in six remote communities and trained local frontline health workers.
Participants from Australia's Biggest Curry Night 2020. Source: Karen Locke/ Australian Himalayan Foundation
“PPE and basic medical equipment in these remote villages remains a priority and we are in the process of that response,” said Mr Balderstone.
“It’s easy for us here in Australia to share a tasty and spicy curry in solidarity with those in the Himalayas, whilst chipping in a much-needed donation for children, women and men really struggling right now,” he added.
