The visit is taking place 15 years after the last UNSG visited Nepal
United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres arrived in Kathmandu Sunday on a four-day official visit to Nepal at the invitation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'.
This is his first visit to Nepal since assuming the high post in 2017, although he had been to this country a decade earlier as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
The main agenda of his visit to Nepal is climate change and ways to mitigate its impact on people's livelihoods, Nepal's peace process and the UN Sustainable Goals. On Tuesday, the Secretary-General will address the joint session of the federal parliament. Apart from meeting Nepal's President Ramchandra Paudel and Prime Minister Dahal, the UN Secretary-General is also scheduled to visit Everest and Annapurna base camps to see the impact of climate change. A trip to Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, is also scheduled before his departure on Wednesday.
The visit of the UN Secretary-General is significant in that such a visit is taking place 15 years after the last UNSG visited Nepal. And Guterres has taken time out to visit Nepal in the midst of the escalating violence in the Middle East where Israel has been on the offensive in Gaza following surprise attacks on Israel by Hamas on October 7. Prime Minister Prachanda had extended the invitation to Guterres to visit Nepal while the former was in New York for the 78th session of the UN General As-of the UN General Assembly in September and also during their meeting in Rome for the UN Food System-2023 Summit in July. Guterres's visit is an opportunity for Nepal to highlight the burning issues facing Nepal, such as climate change and the 17 UN Sustainable Devel-opment Goals, which can only be achieved by 2030 if the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development can be closely coordinated.
Climate change can no longer be taken lightly, with its impact greatly visible in the mountains and on the livelihoods of the people. Nepal is the fourth-most vulnerable country in the world to climate change, and flash floods, droughts, soil erosion and landslides are being increasingly reported across the country as a result. More than 20 glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) have been identified in the country as being potentially dangerous. Since the livelihood of more than 80 per cent of the people living in the hills and mountains are dependent on agriculture, forests and livestock as well as natural resources such as water, which is used for irrigation, unless the effect of climate change can be mitigated, reducing poverty in the country will remain an unachievable task. The recent GLOF in Sikkim, India should caution Nepal about its devastating impact, where more than a dozen people were killed and another hundred went missing after South Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim burst following heavy rains. The United Nations is Nepal's true development partner, and we look up to the international organisation for both technical and financial support to mitigate the impact of climate change, although Nepal's contribution to its cause is minimal. Since the UNSG's visit is also focused on Nepal's peace process, Nepal could seek the UN's role in concluding the process that has been in limbo since 2006.
Lead poisoning
Lead poisoning is affecting children living close to industrial areas, and it is on the rise, as per a recent study. Paint and cosmetic industries use high level of lead in their products to make them attractive, which ultimately has detrimental impact on human health, particularly children. High level of exposure to lead can severely damage brain and the central nervous system, leading to coma, convulsions and even death. Children who survive severe lead poisoning may be left with permanent intellectual disability and behavioural disorders. Exposure to lead is caused by the use of colourful toys and materials used to paint houses and furniture.
The study, conducted by the Centre for Public Health and Environmental Development with support from the government, found that out of 62 enamel paints examined in all the provinces, 30 of them had exceeded the prescribed limit of 90 ppm allowed by the government in 2014. There is no single laboratory in the public health facilities/centres that conducts the level of lead poisoning. Even doctors are not adequately aware of the danger of lead poisoning.
Therefore, there is a need to adopt a National Blood Lead Level Screening policy and blood testing facilities in all the provinces to control lead poisoning.
A version of this article appears in the print on October 30, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
