Nepal

In response to the survey’s release, advocates are pushing for enhanced government action. While Nepal has ratified international conventions like the Convention on the Rights of the Child, implementation lags. Proposed measures include strengthening school retention programmes, providing scholarships for girls from poor families, and enforcing anti-child marriage laws more rigorously.

The report also shed light on child mortality rates, which are closely linked to water quality and sanitation.

The Nepalese government has vowed to tighten immigration enforcement and crack down on illegal brokers operating within its borders. Authorities are also appealing to community leaders and families to remain vigilant and report suspicious operations that may prey on vulnerable individuals.

The allocations promote regional stability, trade, and security, with India positioning itself as a reliable partner amid global uncertainties.

Nepal faces international obligations under the Sustainable Development Goals to reduce stunting to 15 per cent, wasting to four per cent, and underweight rates to 10 per cent by 2030 – targets that appear increasingly challenging, particularly in remote and underserved regions like Sudurpaschim.

Local communities, for their part, have begun to address some of these issues: they are forming their own trader groups to facilitate legal trade and negotiate better prices.

Health minister Sudha Gautam, a senior gynaecologist herself, is positioned to drive change. Experts urge her to prioritise regulation, monitoring, and awareness campaigns.

Nepal’s battle against child labour remains a complex struggle of law, tradition, and socioeconomic fragility, even as pockets of progress emerge.