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There are around 30,000 individuals in Nepal currently living with HIV/AIDS. And they face many problems. Anushka Nepal from ApEx caught up with Khagendra Khadka, president of the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Nepal (NAP+N), who has been living with the infection for 26 years, to talk about issues they face and how they can be tackled. What are the issues that people living with HIV/AIDS face in Nepal? People living with HIV/AIDS face discrimination every day. It’s the major reason behind every issue we face. There are people who have been forced to resign after a workplace finds out about their HIV status, there are children who have been outed from school when news gets out about their infection, and even medical professionals are reluctant to treat HIV infected people. So clearly the issue here is peoples’ perception towards us that makes our daily life difficult. The government has provided us with free medicines and antiretroviral therapy (ART) so not being able to get necessary treatment has never been an issue. Our biggest problem is not having the opportunity to lead a good life as many are deprived of jobs, education, and fair treatment. Worse, there are no laws that back us up. What do you think can be done to change society’s perception? I think the media plays a vital role in this matter. In the past, around six-seven years back, Nepali media covered several issues related to HIV/AIDS. There used to be advertisements in television and radio stations that kept people informed about HIV infection and its transmission. There are many people who have changed their perception towards the infected and one of the reasons is the advocacy through Nepali media. But now we don’t see that anymore and people fear being around anyone with HIV infection due to lack of information and awareness. Has Nepal been able to prevent HIV infection from a mother to her child during/after child birth? There are around 84 places in Nepal that follow the Prevention of Mother-To-Child Transmission (PMTCT) program. So there are hospitals in every part of Nepal that’s well equipped to deliver a child without transmitting the infection from the mother. The number of mother-to-child transmission has also been decreasing. But there is a problem. Many health professionals, especially in rural parts of Nepal, refer HIV infected pregnant women to other hospitals. Although these hospitals are well-equipped to handle the delivery, they try to avoid such cases out of fear of infection. Some also don’t sterilize all the equipment used during delivery. This is not only slowing the progress we expect from this program but also putting the lives of the mother and her child in danger. Nepal has set a national target to reach 95-95-95 testing and treatment target (that is 95 percent of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 95 percent among those who know their status initiate treatment, and 95 percent of those on treatment are virally suppressed) by 2030. What’s the progress so far? We are on track of achieving that goal. It’s estimated that Nepal has 30,000 people with HIV/AIDS, out of which 95 percent are aware of their HIV status. It’s the same with the treatment. Among the infected, 95 percent of them have initiated treatment for HIV. But we are lagging behind on knowing if the ones who have initiated treatment have their viral load (the amount of virus in an HIV infected person’s blood) in check. According to the recent data we have, only 67 percent of the ones getting treatment have been virally suppressed. But we still have seven more years and I believe it’s possible to meet the 95-95-95 target by 2030. Do you think the Nepal Government has been doing enough to meet this target? The number of people who continue their treatment is directly related to the society’s perspective towards the infected. Out of fear of being judged, many people avoid going to ART clinics or take medications. It’s been nearly nine years that we have been demanding the government to pass a bill that will protect the rights of HIV infected individuals. So no, the government has not been doing enough. Till now, they have given us free treatments and insurance policies for the infected and his/her family. Besides that, it’s mostly organizations like ours that have been working to meet the target. There are several things the government can do to encourage people to continue their treatment. For instance, the insurance policy that they provide has encouraged many people to get themselves tested. But we haven’t witnessed anything else besides that. I think the government needs to put more effort into finding new ways to push the infected to continue their treatment. That also includes passing the bill.

A 4.3 magnitude earthquake hit Bajura district at 5:15 am on Thursday. The National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre, Lainchaur, Kathmandu said that the epicenter of the quake was Bichhya in Bajura district. Earlier, a 4.1 magnitude earthquake had jolted Bajura district on May 6. The mountainous and hilly areas of Nepal are considered to be prone to earthquakes.

The Kathmandu District Court on Wednesday ordered the police to keep former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand in custody for four days and proceed with their investigation. Laxman Upadhyay Ghimire, spokesperson at the Public Prosecutor’s Office, said that Khand has been remanded in police custody for four days. The former home minister was apprehended from his residence in Maijubahal, Chabahil on Wednesday in connection with the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. The District Police Range, Kathmandu grilled Khand for five hours.  

Nepali Congress lawmaker Arju Deuba filed a complaint with the Cyber Bureau to investigate the fake audio. She lodged the complaint demanding that the Bureau investigate the fake audio that linked her name to the fake Bhutanese refugee scam and take action against the culprits. Deuba claimed in the complaint that the audio was made public through social media to assassinate her character. Saying that the audio was recorded in a premeditated manner, she demanded that the guilty be booked at the earliest.

The businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic will no longer be able to continue getting various facilities to recover from the impacts of the pandemic with the government all set to bring the federal budget for the next fiscal year 2023/24 on May 29 (Jestha 15). In a commitment letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the government has said it will phase out the facilities that are in place for the last three years. “We will phase out the remaining Covid-19 relief measures including tax rebates to small taxpayers and businesses severely impacted by the pandemic,” states the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) sent to the IMF in early April. The government’s commitment is in line with IMF’s recommendation in which the global lender has suggested finding ways to increase revenue. There has been a massive drop in the government's revenue collection in the current fiscal year compared to the last fiscal year. The import control measures that were in place last year for eight months affected the import-based revenue regime. Similarly, the economic downturn and big decline in market demand have also severely impacted internal revenue collection making it difficult to manage its finances. “The remaining Covid-19 relief measures (mainly tax rebates to small taxpayers and businesses severely impacted by pandemic) should be removed in the fiscal year 2023/24 budget,” the IMF advised after its Article IV Consultation mission in February. In 2022, then Finance Minister Janardan Sharma announced a number of measures in the budget for the current fiscal year 2022/23 to support small businesses and the tourism sector hit hardest by the pandemic. “To provide relief to small businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, I have waived a 75 percent income tax to taxpayers with an annual turnover of up to Rs 3 million and a 50 percent income tax to a taxpayer with an annual turnover of between Rs 3 million and Rs. 10 million in the fiscal year 2021-22,” Sharma had announced while presenting the budget before the House of Representatives a year ago. Likewise, the budget for the current fiscal year has exempted a 50 percent tax on taxable income on tourism industry businesses such as hotels, travel, trekking, and cinema producers that were most affected by the pandemic. Likewise, annual license and renewal fees were waived for the fiscal year 2022/23 for businesses related to the tourism and hospitality sector. In the budget, the government continued concessional loans for the revival of the tourism sector. As businesses in several sectors are recovering fast from the impacts of the pandemic, the government is preparing to end the relief measures. According to the National Account Estimates for the current fiscal year released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) last week, the tourism sector has rebounded as tourist arrivals in the country are reaching pre-pandemic levels.NSO has estimated the country’s economy will grow by just 2.16 percent in the current fiscal year. But accommodation and food service activities related to tourism are expected to grow by 18.56 percent. The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has also stopped providing refinance facilities for businesses affected by Covid-19. The outstanding amount of refinancing provided by NRB remained at Rs 7.12 billion in mid-March 2023. The central bank approved a refinance facility of Rs 148.75 billion in FY 2020/21. As many as 48,890 businesses borrowed money from the package in that fiscal year, the NRB said. In FY 2021/22, the central bank approved a refinance facility of Rs 115.70 billion, benefiting as many as 24,305 borrowers. In line with the monetary policy that sought to limit the refinance amount, the outstanding amount of refinance has gone down. The monetary policy for the current fiscal year states the refinance facility will be continued, but will be limited to productive sectors including agriculture, small enterprises, and export-oriented businesses. “Such a facility will be gradually reduced to the amount available in the refinance fund by mid-July 2024,” reads the monetary policy.

South Korean Ambassador to Nepal Park Chong-Suk today paid a courtesy call on National Assembly (NA) Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina on Wednesday. During the meeting held at Singha Durbar-based office of NA Chair Timilsina, the two exchanged views on the bilateral relations and mutual interests, it has been learnt. On the occasion, the NA Chair thanked the Republic of Korea (RoK) for its investment in manufacturing of electronics in Nepal and extending the investment to the production of motors and to the establishment of other industries as well. He also thanked South Korea for providing job opportunities for many Nepalis through the EPS (Employment Permit System), urging for its initiations to operate the flights of Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) to South Korea. The NA Chair acknowledged the role of ambassador in further consolidating the bilateral ties. In response, the Korean Ambassador said that Korea's investment in Nepal could significantly increase if Nepal enabled the investment-friendly atmosphere here. Expressing his hope for exchanges of high-level visits between the two countries in the future, the ambassador expressed his gratitude to the NA Chair for his initiation to further strengthen the bilateral relations.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 2. 43 points to close at 1,841.93 points on Wednesday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 0. 45 points to close at 353. 80 points. A total of 1,942,626-unit shares of 265 companies were traded for Rs 589 billion. Meanwhile, Himal Dolakha Hydropower Company Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 8. 24 percent. Likewise, NCC Debenture was the top loser with its price dropping by 5. 44 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 7. 24 trillion.

Senior leaders of the three major political parties—Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli—held a meeting the at the prime minister’s office in Singha Durbar on Wednesday. During the meeting, they discussed the fake Bhutanese refugee scam. The trio held a discussion after police started arresting the leaders of the major political parties in the case of fake Bhutanese refugees. A source said that they also discussed the issues of transitional justice. The prime minister’s Secretariat said that they also discussed the ways to make the ongoing budget session of the Parliament effective.