On 13th August 2021, Bikalpa an Alternative conducted the second session of the Leader’s Circle meet at Hotel Shree Krishna Biratnagar. The objective of organizing such meetings is to deliberate discussions between stakeholders on public policy issues and agendas of economic growth by forming a closed informal circle comprising decision-makers, private sector leaders, and civil society members to find solutions to the current problems of Province no.1.
Realizing the current need of Biratnagar, Bikalpa set an agenda on the COVID-19 Pre-vaccine online registration program on this series, with the intention to coordinate with different stakeholders to ensure the effectiveness of the Vaccine Registration Digitization Campaign in Biratnagar.
Altogether, 35 leaders, including the Mayor of Biratnagar, Vice-Chairman of the Planning Commission, Parliamentarian, Public Administrators, Business Leaders, and Civil Society Members, Academicians attended the session. The discussion of the program focused on how the civil society and the private sector can support the provincial and local government to make Biratnagar a 100% vaccinated city against Covid 19. The program was facilitated by Dr. Sandesh Das Shrestha.
The program began with a short address on the objectives of the program by Dependra Chaulagain. He emphasized that the vaccination process needs to be simplified so that vaccines promptly reach to all the residents of Biratnagar. He mentioned that pre-registration could make the vaccination process smooth. Chaulagain suggested the local government coordinate with the private sector for the effective delivery of the vaccines.
Followed by that, Mr. Amardip Deo, immunization supervisor of Biratnagar, presented the current status of vaccination of the city. He stated that so far, 12,035 have taken 1st dose of Covisheld, 3500 have taken the second dose of Vero cell, 24,000 have taken 1st dose of Vero cell, and 13,000 have taken Johnson& Johnson. Altogether, 30% of individuals are vaccinated in Biratnagar.
Then, Mr. Anil Thapa, Director of MOHP, shed light upon the significance of preregistration to manage the COVID vaccination drive. He remarked that this would help the government to manage data and management of the crowds at immunization centers as well as to ensure that people from the priority groups get the jabs without any hassles. He said that volunteers have been mobilized to visit people at their homes to register so that the vaccination drive can be better managed. The floor was then opened for experience sharing and recommendation.
Rajendra Raut, Vice President of FNCCI Province no 1, Prakash Mundada, President of Morang Merchant Association, and Entrepreneur Bhawish Shrestha stressed the need for immediate vaccination in Biratnagar instead of pre-registration. The attendees from tourisms, industrial, and business fields stressed the need to prioritize the hospitality, industrial, and merchandising sectors in the Covid-19 vaccination drive to strengthen the synergy between business and the country’s economy.
Sujan Thapa, President of Birat Bapar Sangh, highlighted the challenges of open borders, which create obstacles to know the exact status of the immunization program. Dr. Suresh Meheta, Health Office Morang Chief, put forward the challenge of low capacity vaccine cold chain. Most of the stakeholders including Jayram Yadav, Provincial Assembly Member of Nepal, Province no 1, stressed a dire need for the coordination between the private and government sectors to procure sufficient Covid-19 vaccines doses. The Central Member of UML, Mr. Rishikesh Pokharel, pointed out that the local representative needs to be accountable and responsible for the possession, supply, and administration of vaccines. Likewise, Mr. Mahesh Regmi, Central Member of CPN UML, remarked that data ought to be reliable to ensure successful tracking and reporting of vaccination.
The floor was then handed over to the provincial planning commission’s vice-chairman, Mr. Subodh Raj Pyakurel. He commented that a Pandemic is like a war and all the rules; the constitution gets suspended during this despondent phase. He appreciated the status of the vaccination in Biratnagar and also encouraged providing identity to non-residence for vaccination during an emergency. At the end of the session, the Mayor of Biratnagar, Mr. Bhim Parajuli, opined that preregistration is favorable for data analysis, time management, crowd management, and all the sectors should take the initiative for it from their respective realm.
Basanta Adhikari, Director of Bikalpa- an Alternative, delivered the closing remarks appealing to all the stakeholders to support the digital vaccine registration program to make it successful. The 3 hours program started at 5:00 pm and ended at 7:45, followed by dinner.
