Nepal receives 1.5 million COVID vaccines through COVAX
Germany has handed over more than 1.5 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's bivalent COVID-19 vaccine to Nepal through the COVAX Facility. Ambassador of Germany to Nepal Dr Thomas Prinz, handed over the vaccines to Minister for Health and Population Padam Giri at the Ministry earlier today in the presence of UNICEF Representative to Nepal Elke Wisch and WHO Representative to Nepal Dr Rajesh Sambhajirao Pandav, read a statement issued by the Embassy of Germany. “From the beginning of this pandemic Germany has supported the people of Nepal and has advocated for multilateral solutions like COVAX and ACT-Accelerator. Vaccines are the key in the fight against this pandemic and I am delighted to hand over today vaccines that were invented in Germany. With this delivery the German support reaches more than 5.6 million Doses,” said Ambassador Dr Prinz. “Nepal is one of the top 10 countries worldwide to receive vaccine support from Germany.” Although the number of COVID-19 infections in Nepal is relatively low at present, experts remain concerned about potential new surges in the days to come, the statement read. So far, over 82 per cent of the total population has been vaccinated, with 9,083,976 having received booster shots (Until Feb 7 2023). “In light of rising COVID-19 infections in different countries around the world, we are keen to continue administering booster shots and expand protection to more people across Nepal,” said Minister for Health and Population Padam Giri. “This generous assistance from Germany comes at a crucial time to support our vaccination efforts.” Germany was one of the founding members of the Country Coordinating Mechanism Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-Accelerator) in April 2020 and remains its second-largest donor, with contributions totalling 3.3 billion euro so far. Germany has donated and delivered approximately 120 million doses since the start of the pandemic – the majority of them through COVAX. The COVAX Facility is part of the ACT-Accelerator, and brings together several key partners such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO and UNICEF to ensure efficient and equitable global allocation of COVID-19 vaccines. UNICEF Representative to Nepal Elke Wisch thanked the Government and people of Germany for contributing these life-saving vaccines to Nepal. ”Germany has been a generous partner in not just ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccines but also in supporting Nepal to procure cold-chain equipment to ensure safe delivery of these doses to communities,” Wisch said, the statement further read. “On behalf of the COVAX facility, we thank the Government of Germany for providing this boost to the country’s ongoing vaccination drive.”
Birgunj Metropolitan City to demolish illegally built structures
The Birgunj Metropolitan City has announced plans to demolish the physical structures constructed by encroaching upon the public lands including the road, footpath and drain areas. The metropolitan city has issued a notice urging the people to demolish such structures on their own within seven days. The Metropolitan City itself will demolish such structures if they were not demolished in the given deadline and the cost incurred for the demolition would be recovered from the concerned individuals, according to the Birgunj Metropolitan City. Coordinator of Physical Infrastructure Committee of the Birgunj Metropolitan City Pradip Kumar Chaurasiya said the city is launching an initiative to reclaim its encroached lands after clearing the physical structures built in the public spaces.
Three held with counterfeit notes
Police have nabbed three persons in possession of counterfeit notes worth Rs 500,000 from Nepalgunj in Banke district on Tuesday. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ram Prasad Gharti said that the arrestees have been identified as Mohan Kumai (33) of Kolapur Municipality-11, Dipak BC (37) of Turmakhand Rural Municipality-3 in Achham district and Mohan Rana (30) of Bangand Kupinde Municipality-5 in Salyan district. A special team of Nepal Police also arrested three persons with a total of 569 fake notes in denomination of Rs 1,000 from New Road area of Nepalgunj.
Transport workers call off protest after deal with government
The Transport Workers’ Association has withdrawn its protest programs following an agreement with the government on Tuesday. The meeting between the agitating transport workers and government representatives was held in Singha Durbar this morning. Nepal Transport Independent Workers’ Organization said that they decided to withdraw the protest programs after the government vowed to address their demands. The government called the transport workers for the meeting after they took to the streets putting forth 10-point demands. Issuing a statement on Monday, the three transport workers’ association—Nepal Transport Independent Workers’ Organization, All Nepal Transport Workers’ Union and Nepal Transport Workers’ Union—had announced that they would halt public transport services indefinitely in the Kathmandu Valley from today if the government did not heed to their demands. Earlier on Monday, transport workers and police personnel clashed in the Balaju area. The situation took an ugly turn after the transport workers set a police van on fire.
