Over the past 10 years, from 2015 to 2025, Nepalis have endured relentless natural disasters, economic crises, health emergencies, and systemic issues that have profoundly impacted their lives. These adversities – ranging from the catastrophic 2015 earthquake to persistent political instability, rampant corruption, and social inequalities – have severely tested the nation's resilience, economy, and social fabric. Amidst the backdrop of widespread poverty, limited infrastructure, and underdevelopment, Nepalis have shown remarkable endurance, yet the cumulative effects have deepened vulnerabilities, hindered progress, and exposed systemic weaknesses. Despite these hardships, many communities have demonstrated resilience through grassroots initiatives, local leadership, and international aid efforts. This article examines seven key challenges: the devastating earthquake, the economic blockade, the COVID-19 pandemic, cooperative scams, escalating foreign debt, unstable governments, and pervasive corruption, highlighting their interconnected impacts on Nepal's path forward.

The decade began with one of Nepal's most tragic events: the 7.8-magnitude earthquake on April 25, 2015, followed by a major aftershock. This disaster claimed nearly 9,000 lives and injured over 22,000 people, while rendering three million people homeless and disrupting essential services like electricity and water. The psychosocial toll was immense, with one in three adults experiencing symptoms of depression and high levels of distress months later. Reconstruction efforts have been slow, with delays in funding and coordination, leaving many survivors grappling with loss of homes, livelihoods, and loved ones even a decade later. The ongoing challenges highlight the urgent need for sustained support and comprehensive rebuilding strategies to ensure long-term recovery and resilience.

Barely, recovering from the earthquake, Nepal faced another crisis: an unofficial blockade imposed by India from September 2015 to February 2016, amid protests over the new constitution by Madhesi groups in the southern plains. This led to severe shortages of fuel, medicine, and essential goods, halting public transportation, closing schools and markets, and crippling hospitals. The private sector suffered losses estimated at Rs 202.5 billion (about $1.96 billion), compounding the earthquake's economic damage. The blockade exposed Nepal's heavy reliance on India for trade and fueled anti-India sentiments.

The global COVID-19 pandemic struck Nepal hard, leading to nationwide lockdowns and border closures. It severely impacted health, with psychological effects like panic contributing to non-COVID deaths, and economically devastated sectors like tourism and remittances. Agriculture and food systems faced disruptions, causing inflation and threats to food security, while poverty and undernourishment rose. By 2022, the economy contracted, affecting manufacturing, construction, and trade, with long-term implications for sustainable development goals and recovery efforts.

From 2022 onward, Nepal has been rocked by widespread cooperative scams, where institutions meant to support small savers embezzled billions in deposits. By 2025, embezzled amounts reached Rs 49 billion, affecting thousands of depositors and leading to protests and arrests of over 595 individuals. Notable cases include a cooperative in Butwal, where Rs 220 million was siphoned off, and 21 crisis-ridden cooperatives accounting for Rs 36.289 billion in fraud. These scandals, often linked to poor governance and political nexus, have eroded trust in financial systems and sparked demands for accountability and reform.

Nepal's foreign debt has surged dramatically, rising from around $3-4 billion in 2015 to $10.5 billion by September 2024, with total public debt exceeding Rs 2.65 trillion by mid-2025. Factors include post-earthquake reconstruction loans, COVID-19 recovery borrowing, and infrastructure projects, often from China and India. Currency depreciation added Rs 73 billion to the burden in 2025 alone. This increasing debt-to-GDP ratio raises concerns about sustainability, potential debt traps, and reduced fiscal space for social services, threatening Nepal's economic stability.

Political turmoil has been a constant, with Nepal seeing 14 prime ministers in 15 years since the monarchy's abolition in 2008, and no government completing a full five-year term in the last 16 years. Frequent coalition shifts, involving leaders like KP Sharma Oli, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda), have led to policy inconsistency and governance paralysis. This instability, rooted in transactional politics and lingering effects of the Maoist insurgency, has hindered development, exacerbated undernourishment, and slowed progress on critical reforms.

Corruption remains a pervasive issue, with Nepal ranking 110th out of 180 countries on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index in 2023, scoring just 34 out of 100. High-profile scandals include the wide-body aircraft procurement fraud, tax settlement commissions embezzling billions, and cooperative frauds linked to politicians. In 2025, cases implicated former Prime Minister Madhav Nepal and civil servants, highlighting kleptocracy and nepotism. Over 356 employees faced charges in 2022-23 alone, yet impunity for high-level figures persists, eroding public trust and governance.

The past decade has been a gauntlet for Nepalis, with interconnected challenges amplifying each other – natural disasters straining resources, economic shocks deepening poverty, and systemic issues like corruption and instability impeding recovery. Yet, the spirit of the Nepali people shines through in community efforts, grassroots movements, and calls for reform. Moving forward, addressing these requires stable governance, robust anti-corruption measures, and sustainable debt management to build a more resilient, equitable, and prosperous future for Nepal.

Kayastha is a writer based in Kathmandu