Kathmandu, Sept 5: Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Arzu Rana Deuba has highlighted the significance of care work, describing it not only as a profession but also as a humanitarian service.
Addressing Asia Pacific Care Forum that began in Kathmandu on Thursday, she called for valuing services that support people from childhood to old age as a humanitarian service.
Despite its indispensable role, she expressed concern that care work remains undervalued, underfunded, and largely invisible in economic calculations. Citing Nepal’s context, she said the contribution of the care sector is almost equal to that of agriculture, but its burden disproportionately befalls women, hindering their participation in the economy, politics and public life.
She noted that Nepal’s 16th Periodic Plan has accorded high priority to care job, placing it at the center of the country’s development vision for the first time. She advocated for treating the job not as an expense but as a high-return investment, pointing out data that if the current shortage of health and education care is addressed, millions of new jobs will be created in Nepal, with at least 60 percent benefiting women.
However, she pointed out challenges such as limited infrastructure, lack of skilled care workers, and lack of public awareness, which, she said, could be overcome by creating job opportunities, expanding social security, and arranging fair wages for care workers.
Recalling their decades-long involvement in promoting safe motherhood and gender equality in Sudurpaschim and other regions of the country, she noted that such programmes and campaigns have significantly helped reduce maternal and infant mortality rates.
Additionally, she said that care-related activities have not only improved women’s and infant health but also strengthened Nepal’s overall health indicators. #nepal
