KATHMANDU, JUNE 16

For many people in the Pacific, COVID-19 presents yet another challenge in a region familiar with natural hazards and the accompanying disruptions to everyday life. There are some parallels with natural disasters, but these usually hit for a couple of days and then the cleanup can begin.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, water utilities in the Pacific region have faced additional challenges such as workforce infection, a drop in revenue, supply chain disruption, and the threat of community disease transmission.

The current COVID-19 crisis is prolonged, with uncertainty. Even when things get back to 'normal', there is a strong possibility of flare ups and waves of infection if herd immunity is not achieved.

The pandemic has provided some water utilities in the Pacific with the opportunity to upgrade business continuity planning across their organizations and, by doing so, become more resilient to other risks. Learning from these examples, here are steps utilities can use to transform their internal business processes.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 16, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.