Social and economic shocks from the COVID-19 crisis have taken a heavy toll on the mental health and the wellbeing of women and girls in Nepal. Like many countries, Nepal imposed lockdowns, including school closures, to curb the spread of infections during the pandemic. Isolation, financial stressors, and the lack of in-person schooling aggravated gender-based violence (GBV) and harmful practices, such as forced marriage. In a country where more than 1 in 5 women report having been the victims of physical violence,1 the pandemic hampered women and girls’ access to the already limited legal and health systems. Stigma and unhygienic practices around menstruation also exposed them to health risks.

The Community Research and Development Organization (CORD) received an AHA! Project small grant. CORD works at the intersection of health education and advocacy for women and girls in Nepal’s Ganeshman Charnath Municipality. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CORD addressed priority issues raised by the health crisis—notably the suspension of in-person schooling and the related spike in mental health episodes and gender-based violence (GBV). Teachers, school administrators, and more than 50 female students in the locality benefited from psychological self-care trainings, women’s health and GBV awareness workshops, and hygiene interventions.

The Awareness with Human Action (AHA!) Project works to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 in South Asia, focusing on misinformation, threats to social cohesion during the pandemic, with a focus on youth, women and girls, and religious actors. CORD’s efforts to offset societal and psychological effects of COVID-19 in a vulnerable Nepali community—while tackling the related issue of stigma around women’s health and hygiene—strongly aligned with AHA goals. This case review situates the project in its setting and highlights lessons for community development actors in similar contexts.

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