Catching people doing the right thing – announcing the winners of the Covid Heroes Awards
We have lost lives, businesses and social connections, but there are still many individuals working in our communities who give us hope to rebuild the future. The hard work, honesty and integrity of such people need to be applauded and preserved, especially during crises like the Coronavirus pandemic. With this campaign, Accountability Lab Nepal is highlighting the fantastic work, achievements and determination of the frontline public servants for their contribution in the fight against injustice and inequality during the pandemic.
The Coronavirus pandemic has been one of the greatest global challenges, spreading across 221 countries and infecting around one hundred twenty-two million people. More than 2 million people lost their lives. In the case of Nepal, around 276 000 people were infected with around 3,000 losing their lives. It was a crucial period that tested governance systems around the world. Integrity in individuals and institutions became more important than ever before.
During the pandemic, numerous frontliners were mobilized by the Government of Nepal. While all of us were staying inside due to the fear of infection, our frontline workers (including doctors, nurses, army officers, police members, political representatives, and government officials) were laboring on the ground risking their lives and making sacrifices, while also being away from their loved ones for months at a time to keep everyone safe. However, instead of recognizing their selfless efforts and supporting them, there were instances of people making their lives miserable by stigmatising them, blaming them for the transmission of the virus, and ultimately discouraging them from their service. Unfair scrutiny was prevailing over gratitude and respect. At that moment, Accountability Lab Nepal decided to celebrate their efforts by recognizing them in order to change the negative perceptions of the public towards frontliners, and spread awareness regarding their outstanding work. The Lab team opened nominations by asking citizens to nominate government frontline workers doing outstanding work in their communities.
The nominations were open for a month. We received 115 nominations from 34 districts. Based on numerous conversations with service seekers, colleagues, and considering their selfless contributions during the pandemic, we have selected our top three COVID heroes. Marking a year since the beginning of the lockdown, we are celebrating them today. Our journey to recognize individuals who are doing exemplary work in their workplace will continue in the days to come.
Name: Chandika Adhikari
Designation: Staff Nurse
Current office: Jaleshwor Hospital, Mahottari 
Chandika Adhikari is a staff nurse working in Jaleshwor Hospital, which is one of the COVID-designated hospitals of Province 2, as declared by the Government of Nepal. When the first patient was admitted to the hospital, almost all hospital staff stopped coming to work due to the fear of infection. As a result, Chandika had to take on additional responsibilities of absent staff and also had to assume the overall managerial responsibilities of the hospital as well. For a week, she had to clean the hospital areas, wash clothes, and deliver medicines and other essential materials to specific rooms by herself. Besides that, she had to manage isolation, indoor service, maternity, and the operation theatres. One day, due to her high workload and working continuously for 24 hours, she passed out. One of the service seekers mentioned that she was ready to work as soon as she regained consciousness without taking any rest. Due to the lack of senior staff at the hospital, she learned how to use PPE and other safety materials by studying doctors online and even taught her junior staff how to use the equipment properly. There was no sanitizer or masks at the beginning, so she made the sanitizer herself using glycerine, spirits, and ethanol. Shealso made the mask herself with the help of other staff. Recognizing her hard work during the pandemic, she was awarded by the provincial government on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
Name: Naresh Babu Shrestha
Designation: Public Health Inspector / COVID focal person
Current Office: Health Office, Bardiya
Naresh Babu Shrestha was the focal person for COVID-19 in Banke. When the first case of COVID-19 was reported, people were scared and used to avoid case management. He was the first person in the district to take the initiative of managing positive cases and convinced health workers and local leaders to work when they were refusing to work out of fear. He did everything from managing the isolation and quarantine facilities, collecting data from infected patients, contact tracing and making people aware about safety standards. He also distributed masks and sanitizer, and managed the bodies of the deceased.. He stayed at the hospital without taking any leave and would only sleep for 2 to 3 hours a day. He went so far as to make physical contact with the bodies of deceased patients and cremated them when family members were scared to touch them. For the people who could not afford the expense of tests and treatments, he coordinated with different organizations to get the necessary materials. He supported the government to create an environment where free tests and treatment along with free food and ambulance services were provided for Covid-positive patients. He used to visit the Indian border during the night to conduct RDT tests of migrant workers and arrange vehicles to send them to their respective districts. The Chief District Officer of Banke mentioned that it was because of Naresh Babu Shrestha that Banke was able to control the COVID-19 cases. In coordination with the Decision of the District COVID-19 Crisis Management Center (DCCMC) and Provincial Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) he has been collecting data and working on its analysis to identify the ongoing risks of COVID-19. He uses the method to pin-point the hot spots for new cases which in turn has reduced the cost significantly due to the lower need for COVID-19 testing.
Name: Laxmi Raj Upadhaya
Designation: Public Health Inspector / COVID focal person
Current office: Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city office 
Laxmi Raj Upadhyaya worked as the focal person for COVID-19 in Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan City. At the start of the pandemic when everyone was unsure and afraid of the risks, he did not stay idle. Even when there was a lack of safety products such as masks, he travelled to the border, working at helpdesks, managing vehicles for migrant workers, and visiting quarantine centres along with migrants so that they would feel secure. He was able to send almost 200,000 migrants to their respective districts safely. During the early stages of the pandemic, he visited different wards to collect test swabs and took the initiative to provide health advice about the basic health and sanitation methods for people staying in home isolation. To reduce stigmatization and discrimination of marginalized communities during the pandemic, he visited households personally to spread awareness about the virus and urged everyone to help each other. Even during the Dashain vacation he continued to visit the people in quarantine and celebrated the festival with patients to keep them mentally healthy. One of the infected patients shared that Laxmi used to visit them on a daily basis and used to motivate them to fight against the virus which helped a lot during his healing phase.
***Disclaimer: The basic criteria were defined for the nomination- the frontline worker should be nominated by someone else rather than the nominee themselves and should not have been accused of any kind of corruption or abuse of authority by CIAA or any other regulatory institution/agency. Since the candidates were nominated by the public and Accountability Lab Nepal did not search for the candidates themselves, many other amazing frontline workers have yet to be considered. We salute all of you!