JICA Nepal handed over COVID-19 response relief items to Chautara Sangachowkgadhi Municipality and Helambu Rural Municipality in Sindhupalchowk and Palungtar Municipality and Barpak Sulikot Rural Municipality in Gorkha, four of the pilot local governments supported under its Technical Cooperation Project (TCP) “The Project on Participatory Rural Recovery” (PPRR) .

Chief Representative of JICA Nepal Ms. Yumiko Asakuma handed over emergency relief materials, such as food (rice, lentils, cooking oil), PPE (personal protection equipment), gloves, masks and sanitizers, VTM (Viral transport medium, for swabs) and bedding sets (mattresses, pillows, and bed sheets etc.) to mayors and representatives of municipalities during the first and second week of August.

Currently, Palungtar Municipality and Barpak Sulikot Rural Municipality are operating 4 quarantine facilities respectively, catering to between 40 - 70 people in isolation at any point in time. Chautara Municipality has 2 facilities and Helambu Rural Municipality has one, with about 50 people accommodated.

The emergency relief materials were provided as part of the project's support to strengthen the capacities of local governments and communities not only for building back better from the 2015 earthquake but also for enhancing community resilience against various kinds of disasters including the ongoing global pandemic.