Major Problems in Nepal

1. Poverty

       Get the latest statistical data on poverty and socioeconomic development in Nepal and compare poverty indicators among countries in South Asia.

In Nepal, 25.2% of the population lives below the national poverty line.

In Nepal, the proportion of employed population below $1.90 purchasing power parity a day is 12.5%.For every 1,000 babies born in Nepal, 29 die before their first birthday.

Nepal is among the world’s poorest countries. Poverty in this small nation is not only persistent, but is widespread. According to the 2010 Nepal Living Standards Survey, conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics and the World Bank, 25.2% of the country’s population lives below the poverty line.

Moreover, the World Bank reported that everyone in Nepal, leaving a handful of professionals, businessman and large farmers, is poor. Today, more than 9 million people in the country are projected to be living on an income of less than $1 a day

2. Underdevelopment

     Nepal is an underdeveloped country. Although it has embarked upon planned development for the last six decades, socio-economic transformations are yet to emerge in the country. The country is being assisted in its development endeavours by foreign countries and international donors and agencies. The annual budgets of the country contain the lion’s share of such assistance. Still, the country has been sluggish in developing itself. Development plans and programmes are drawn up in the country on a continuous basis but their impact on development is not effectual.

3. Unemployment

                          

                   The population who are temporarily without job are called Unemployment.Unemployment refers to the state of being unemployed.If the people do not get apt job to be employed,it is called as the problem of unemployment. Nowadays this burning population has emerged as a complex challenge in Nepal.

   The problem of unemployment invites many problem and social disasters.If people do not get any thing to live on, they are likely to involve in crimes such as robbery, thief etc.We can see that unemployed youth starts taking drugs and drinking.In some serious conditions, completely unemployed people are likely to commit suicide.The pace of development gets slower because unemployed people cannot educate their children.By the result, the future of them can led to misery and ruins.

   In order to solve the problem of unemployment, the opportunities and facilities of technical education should be decentralized.Youth should be encourage to get technical education.In rural areas, the government is obliged to encourage the people to establish cottage industries.Unemployment problem should be removed fast though it took long time but for the development of nation this problem should be solved as soon as possible.

4. Malnutrition

       Despite several efforts, the situation of malnutrition in Nepal is alarming. According to NDHS 2011 41% of under five year olds are stunted, 29% are underweight and 11% are wasted indicating early chronic malnutrition. Malnutrition reduces a child’s survival chances, causes permanent impairment of physical development, and perpetuates poverty by reducing achievement in school and future earnings. The process of stunting occurs between conception to two years of age and is an irreversible process. Furthermore the population of Nepal especially women and children are affected by major micronutrients deficiencies.

Malnutrition increases the risk of mortality in the early stages of infancy and childhood, impairs cognitive function of those who survive and hinders efforts to enhance national, social and economic development goals and the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 1-6. Poor feeding and care practices, insufficient nutrient intake, high rate of infection and teenage pregnancy are the immediate causes of chronic malnutrition in Nepal.

          The Government of Nepal does realize that the issue of malnutrition must be addressed as a priority as it has negative impact on economic development and on the human population. To address the issue the government developed a National Multi-sector Nutrition Plan for improving maternal and child nutrition and reducing chronic malnutrition. The National Multi-sector Nutrition Plan (MSNP) was developed in 2012 jointly with the Ministry of Agriculture and Development, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Ministry of Health and Population and the Ministry of Urban Development.

This involved a series of consultative meetings involving the National Nutrition and Food Security Steering Committee and Coordination Committee members, government line agencies, technical working groups, sector reference groups, experts and consultants, and representatives from various development partners including donors and civil society organizations.

This Nutrition plan offers a package of a set of focused interventions to attain priority strategic objectives and has been prepared by five government sectors, and is led by the National Planning Commission (NPC), in collaboration with their development partners. It offers a package of activities and interventions with prioritized strategic objectives which, over a period of five years, should contribute to a one third reduction of the current prevalent rates of chronic malnutrition. This will enable the country to significantly reduce this problem within the next ten years and ensure that malnutrition no longer becomes an impediment to improving Nepal's human and socio-economic development.

5. Political problems

     It is very difficult to actually find the root cause and prime cause of the political problem in Nepal today. There is great pessimism in the world today and countries wonder whether the political situation in the country will actually improve or not. The current unrest in the country is due to the political problems between the king, the Maoist rebels and the political parties that have resulted in the current impasse. There are people who are aware of this problem however the unfortunate thing is that nothing has been undertaken to find a solution to this problem.

     The security forces of Nepal are controlled by the Monarchy but due to some of its undemocratic moves it has created strife in democratic forces and this in turn has prompted republicanism. Due to this popular support for the monarchy is declining and political activists have already taken to the streets to revolt against the monarchy. The main political party that has launched a People’s War against the monarchy is the Maoist party of Nepal. This party embarks to get rid of monarchy and seeks to instill the fundamentals of communism in the country.

     The Maoists are the main people who are in total control of the countryside of Nepal. This political party, however, over the years, have failed to gain public support because of the shocking brutality of their political actions. They are violent and their strike that shut down all the country are unwise and weaken the nepalese economy. This resulted in both national and international condemnation upon the rebels. After the latest ceasefire, the Maoists are now distancing themselves from their extremely violent actions of the past years. Though they may have reduced the shocking brutal activities of the past years the word, “terror” still remains central in the Maoist rebel’s ideology.

5. Girls trafficking

   Girls trafficking  is literally defined as the buying and selling of girls illegally. It is a major social crime in Nepal. It has been spread rapidly in remote areas where people are uneducated, ignorant and poor. Girls traffickers in Nepal are reported to sell the girls in India. 

        Girl trafficking in Nepal seems to be a challenging problem. Girl traffickers have made a complex network to supply the girls. They go to the remote areas pretending to be social workers, teachers, officials,etc. They try to influence the illiterate people. They lure the people in many ways. Some young girl traffickers pretend to be unmarried and propose the girls to get married. The innocent and ignorant people believe in their words. Similarly, some girl traffickers lure the girls by pretending that they would provide them good jobs in India. Then, they take the girls to India and sell them for the purpose of prostitution. The innocent girls are compelled to accept it. If they deny it, they are badly punished and tortured. Girls trafficking is primarily attributed to ignorance, lack of public awareness, illiteracy, poverty, unemployment and intricate network of smuggling and girls trafficking.

        Girls trafficking in Nepal has stigmatized our dignity. This social crime invites many social disasters, and ruins. Nowadays, a fatal disease, AIDS has been spread rapidly becuse of girls trafficking , too. The girls who are sold in prostitution houses come back to Nepal being HIV infected. They pass on HIV to other youths in Nepal. Some girls who are victimized by HIV and other fatal disease are likely to commit suicide. Our country is compelled to invest more money to cure the HIV infected youths. Girls trafficking results the entire violation of human rights. Therefore, girls trafficking adversely affects the prosperity of human civilization. 

6. Drug Peddling

   

         In Nepal, marijuana and its byproducts have traditionally been used for medical purposes as well as playing a role in cultural and religious occasions for hundreds of years. Even today in certain communities people who use marijuana on a regular basis are not considered addicted. However, overuse of marijuana and other pharmaceutical drugs, particularly heroin, has escalated since the early 1970s, when the hippies began to enter into Nepal. On the other hand, as in many other countries, alcohol and tobacco dependence have been found to be strongly associated with substance abuse. Tobacco is the most prevalent substance in Nepal followed by alcohol and marijuana. Alcohol and other drug abuse and addiction have contributed to violent behavior in youths, which is a major public health and security problem. It has been estimated that there are 50 thousand to 60 thousand drug abusers in Nepal, which is not based on any authentic data or survey. 

      Hence, a nationwide survey to find out the real number of drug addicts is necessary. Our study shows that more than 90 percent of the total drug addicts in Nepal have started using drugs prior to the age of 16. The large numbers of drug addicts have been found to be between the ages of 16 to 20.The abuse of drugs has led not only to drug addiction but also to the incidence of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Heroin addicts and other intravenous drug users (IDUs) have been found to be more vulnerable to contracting these diseases. Among 60 thousand drug abusers, the number of IDUs is estimated to be 20 thousand. Sixty eight percent of these IDUs are HIV positive and most of them are multidrug abusers. 

          Among IDUs, alcohol use is often associated with unprotected sex. Consumption of alcohol and marijuana boost sexual activity and reduce the use of condom. Before 1996, there were no reports or records of HIV-positive cases in Nepal, but by the end of the same year, nine HIV-positive cases had been detected. In early 2003, 1,940 HIV-positive and AIDS cases were recorded. Among the known cases, 213 are IDUs (source: Department of Health Services). The attitude and behavior of drug abusers are conducive to the spread of these dreaded diseases. IDUs share needles and hence the transmission of HIV from one person to another is rapid. This situation demands thorough research on the problem of drug addiction and its supply to recommend effective measures to counter the problem.

7. HIV/AIDs

       HIV in Nepal is extremely heterogeneous, with respect to the most‐at‐risk populations (MARPs), geographic distribution, and risk factors in different geographic regions. The epidemic is concentrated in key populations such as sex workers, injecting drug users (IDUs), men who have sex with men (MSM), and some migrants. Effective prevention interventions need to be scaled up among MARPs and their direct sexual partners. Nepal's poverty, political instability and gender inequality, combined with low levels of education and literacy make the task challenging, as do the denial, stigma, and discrimination that surround HIV and AIDS.