Free or affordable public health is not a reality yet in Nepal, despite some progress from the federal government that is slowly rolling out a public health insurance policy throughout the nation. Whoever is in power should prioritise the systemic expansion of this programme, ensuring that all the hospitals, especially the private ones, are also part of it
The capacity of individuals, communities, institutions, businesses and systems to survive, adapt and grow no matter what kind of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience.
I am borrowing this definition of resilience, but I do believe that in a country like Nepal there are literally millions of resilient people.
An old woman selling newspapers at the crossroads, other women selling vegetables on the streets, men trying to provide for their families by doing very hard jobs, young boys and women involved in the construction sector or the young visually impaired girl that boldly navigates the traffic of the capital.
These are just a few examples of "day in and day out" resilience that Nepal boasts.
Imagine the country without it, it would have already collapsed.
Resilient people, mostly but not only vulnerable and deprived citizens, are the pillars of this nation.
Those citizens also living in precarious health conditions are another exemplary group of resilient persons, especially when they are denied their rights to free or affordable public health.
It's a common story that many readers know personally: selling ancestral land, contracting debts in order to pay for prohibitive medical expenses.
It is not fair, but the world goes on, it is simply like that. I am writing this story thinking about Jyoti Budhathoki, a 20 something promising young woman who is living with systemic sclerosis.
It is a very serious condition that is degenerative and ultimately can affect your entire body. Jyoti's life has been marked by hospitalisations, medical checkups and a lot of pain. Recently she had one of her legs amputated, and she is still recovering at Dhulikhel Hospital, one of the best health centres in the country, a place that truly tries hard to provide affordable health care.
The treatment that Jyoti must go through is extremely expensive, and this, as we know it, is unsurprisingly.
Free or affordable public health is not a reality yet in Nepal, despite some progress from the federal government that is slowly rolling out a public health insurance policy throughout the nation. Whoever is in power right now should prioritise the systemic expansion of this programme, ensuring that all the hospitals, especially the private ones, are also part of it.
Implementing this programme can truly make the difference for so many like the plans from the previous government to build hundreds of hospitals and clinics across Nepal.
No one now talks about this ambitious programme of former PM Oli's administration, but there is no doubt that the country is in desperate need of better, much better public health.
While hoping for effective public health governance at the national and local level and keeping our fingers crossed that external development partners will be willing to consider such a vital expansion drive, we still have situations like Jyoti and many others like her.
These are the citizens that perhaps we should start looking at with awe, from those doing very tough jobs for us for a pittance to all those having a tough time in a hospital bed.
No matter their challenges, often like in the case of Jyoti, almost existential, they keep trying hard. They do hope for a better future, they do not give up.
If you are in a tough spot it is not easy to muster hope, hope for a better future. We can all be empathic, but we still cannot imagine what a person like Jyoti is going through.
Yet as reported by this newspaper recently, Jyoti still has hope, hope for a better future.With the right medicines and the appropriate treatment, Joyti could have a relative normal life. Of course, she will have to make a lot of adjustments, but after all, she has been adjusting all her entire life.
Likewise, with the right policies, many people's lives could be uplifted, and certain trajectories that now almost certainly determine the job and level of income without offering any freedom of choice could dramatically change for the better.
Yet resilient people do not give up and keep hoping that tomorrow will be a better day. For example, Jyoti's hope is to graduate from her media studies at the School of Arts of Kathmandu University and become a journalist or media producer or who knows what. She could even become one of the greatest wheelchair basketball players.
We do not really know what the future will predict for her, but definitely she wants to stick around and thrive.
Like her, all those struggling want to do well in life.
It is their goal and intrinsic right. In this particular case, and in many others that go unknown and unnoticed, the government should step up and provide all the support available.
There are still so many stories that need urgent interventions, too many people suffering unnecessarily, too many people being exploited but still keeping working hard and professionally.
The old lady selling newspapers early morning or the young women carrying heavy lifts at the house construction site and all the persons with severe health conditions like Jyoti are all masters of resilience.
Shouldn't also they become masters of inspiration for all of us? For sure they are part of the society, and, with their struggles and suffering, they are teaching us not to give up.
We certainly need a better political class, but also each individual, starting from myself, could do more and better and support a cause.
Perhaps, a small step to begin with would be to start sharing our gratitude to all the resilient people of Nepal because they are showing us the way even though it has been always all dark for them.
Galimberti is co-founder of Engage, a NGO
A version of this article appears in the print on July 12, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.