Go Forward

 September 16, 2021



Name Tara Prasad Joshi
Country Nepal
Present position, department/division, and organization Deputy Registrar (Under Secretary), The Supreme Court of Nepal
MPP awarded in September 2019

Q.1: During the past one month, is the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in your country increasing, or decreasing?

The confined cases of COVID-19 are decreasing but nearly 1500 to 2000 cases are confined everyday in average now days, too.

Q.2: In past several months, did your government declared and introduced strict measures to restrict movements or actions of general public? If yes, what were they?

The Government of Nepal had declared lockdown through the whole country from last week of April to control the 2nd wave of pandemic. In Kathmandu, the capital city of the country, there were many restrictions till last day of August. The cinema halls, theaters, party palaces were not allowed to open. More than 25 people were not allowed to be gathered together. Social and cultural rituals were held by following health guidelines prescribed by Ministry of Health. The schools and colleges are still closed and will be open after 17th of September. Thus government of Nepal has made different efforts and restrictions to control the pandemic. Now the situation is not out of control and vaccination program is continued. The government of Japan has also donated vaccine which is a great help for Nepal.

Q.3: How have your life and work changed because of COVID-19 pandemic?



The COVID-19 pandemic has changed my daily life and way of working in the office, too. I have to use mask and sanitizer while I’ll be out of my home. I take food only prepared in my own kitchen. I try to be away from the gathering and crowd. I keep social and physical distancing and rarely use public vehicle. We are far away from cultural celebrations and isolated from family members who are living out of Kathmandu.

My present working organization is the Supreme Court of Nepal. The service of the court has been curtailed due to the pandemic. The court has started online hearing of the cases. I have also worked from home with the use of information technology for more than one month. We are maintaining physical distancing in the office now a day’s also.

Q4: What do you think are necessary for the society of your country to prepare for / to deal with another pandemic expected to happen in the future?

In my country, the resilience system to deal with the pandemic is still weak. There is need of precautions to control the pandemic like COVID-19 and health service should be upgraded with facilities of basic infrastructures. There is need of a proper management and cooperation among the different stakeholders such as government agencies, local government, private sector and civil society to overcome these types of pandemic in future. We have faced the lack of a good cooperation among the health institutions, donors and the other government bodies in the time of crisis.

The social network and social capital of the society in the country like Nepal can be useful in such crisis. The community engagement is very fruitful to get rid of the psychological wound of the disasters. People do not feel isolated and the self confidence along with hope of life can make positive impact to decrease the casualties by the pandemic.

Q.5: How are you taking advantage of the experience with Meiji University? What do you think are the "growth" or "progress" that you made through the 2-year study?

The 2-year study in the Meiji University has become fruitful not only in my career but also in my daily life. I have learned different things from Japanese society, too. The patience in the period of crisis and the proper management of dealing with disaster is learned in Japan.

In Meiji University, I have studied Disaster Management subject that is also helpful practically. I have studied NGO/NPO management in which I got practical knowledge of how to engage society in social welfare and how non government agencies can contribute for the development of the nation.

After graduating from Meiji University in public policy, I have passed the open competitive examination held by public service commission of Nepal and I have been promoted to Under Secretary that is one of the greatest achievements for me in my career. Thus, my two years study became memorable for me and it is paying a lot to me personally and the government of Nepal as a civil servant. I’m always grateful to the university family and the government of Japan.