Building provincial capacity for sustainable agricultural mechanisation in Nepal

This project was originally envisaged as an 18-month development-oriented project based in Provinces 1 and 2 of the Nepal Terai. It aimed to build solidarity and teamwork around the drive for agri-mechanisation in each of these two provincial governments. Unfortunately, the short time frame paired with intensive efforts to establish new relationships and then the onset of COVID-19 meant that there was limited scope to deeply develop these new relationships and fully build the envisaged roadmap process and plans. Regardless of this, the project has made some essential steps in improving provincial agri-mechanisation planning and implementation, including: (1) substantial capacity developed though placement of engineering experts within the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), the Ministries of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives (MoLMAC), various cooperatives and agricultural knowledge centres;(2) new and deepened relationships with and between key stakeholders, and particularly between NARC and provincial government, as well as with and between various cooperatives;(3) development of the first quantification of the status of agri-mechanisation on the Nepal Terai - indicating that there is high potential for rapid mechanisation if some key constraints are addressed;(4) publication of the learnings for a review of mechanisation in India and Bangladesh, and what that means for Nepal's agri-mechanisation planning;(5) regional learnings and new collaborations with various stakeholders in Nepal and West Bengal;(6) a national symposium on agri-mechanisation on the Nepal Terai, with a large number of supported individuals attending and learning from the national Agrimechanisation Fair;(7) development of a "roadmap" process that can be used more widely with additional further development;and (8) technical guidance and relationship building to improve the scaling of government supported custom hire centres in Province 1.

Anxiety and Depression during COVID-19 Pandemic among Medical Students in Nepal

Background Medical students' psychological response to societal lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic has not been studied much. Objective To assess levels of anxiety and depression among medical students during initial stages of COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal and relate their distress to relevant variables. Method A cross-sectional study with online questionnaire was conducted among medical students at different colleges in Nepal. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) detected 'anxiety' and 'depression'. The covariates were explored by logistic regression analyses. Result A total 416 medical students [mean age: 22.2 (2.1);males 57.7%, females 42.3%] participated. HADS-anxiety scores [mean: 7.1(4.3)] were significantly and positively correlated with HADS-depression [mean: 5.9 (4.1)] (r=0.695;p < 0.001). Point prevalence of total HADS caseness (HADS-T) was 26.7%. Specific HADS-defined caseness were: anxiety (HADS-A) 11.8%, depression (HADS-D) 5.5%, and comorbid anxiety and depression (HADS-cAD) 9.4%. All four types of caseness were significantly more prevalent among students with a history of mental problems (AOR=4.7, 3.2, 2.6, and 3.2 respectively). HADS-T was higher among those with a concurrent physical illness (AOR=2.4). HADS-T, HADS-A and HADS-D scores were higher among the age group > 22 years (AOR= 2.2, 2.5 and 4.4 respectively). HADS-cAD was almost threetimes higher among those with a possible COVID-19 exposure (AOR=2.8). Conclusion A significant number of medical students in Nepal suffered from high levels of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 shut-down. The students in the higher (> 22 years) age group, those with past mental disorders, possible COVID-19 exposure, and concurrent physical illness showed elevated levels of anxiety and/or depression.