Nabil Bank Conducts Workshop on “Ways of Protecting Health of Migrant Workers in Climate Change Perspective”

Kathmandu, April 18. Nabil Bank has successfully conducted a workshop on “Ways of Protecting Health of Migrant Workers in Climate Change Perspective” where Mr. Jason Glaser, CEO of La Isla Network, USA was the key presenter. La Isla Network is a research and consulting group dedicated to eliminating heat-related ailments, such as chronic kidney disease from non-traditional causes (CKDnT) among workers and their communities around the world. In the changing climate, the organization is developing, supporting, and implementing evidence-based solutions to address workers’ health.

As Nabil Bank has always been promoting various Sustainable Banking initiatives for effective contribution to the society, this first of its kind workshop has been conducted as a noble initiative to start a dialogue on the crucial component of the Nepalese economy i.e. migrant workers. The program was also supported by Nepal Remitters Association.

The workshop which was held at Vivanta Hotel, Lalitpur on 15^th April 2022 was attended by the higher level of authorities of the Bank along with officials from Ministry of Labor, Employment & Social Security, Ministry of Federal Affairs & General Administration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment Board, ILO, Diplomatic Missions, various stakeholders from Nepal Remitters Association, Manpower Companies, Pravasi Nepali Coordination Committee, etc.

Speaking about the workshop, Mr. Upendra Poudyal, Nabil Bank’s Chairman said that the works and researches conducted by Jason Glaser are very useful to our Nepali Migrant Workers before it is too late as it has been an eye opening session on the health issues caused by Climate Change. During the workshop, Mr. Glaser focused on the impact of climate change on the health of migrant workers. Furthermore, he mentioned that several chronic diseases are increasing in rural hot communities as temperature progressively rises worldwide amidst any correlation with traditional risk factors. Hence, it is imperative to raise a voice to improve worksite conditions and ensure adequate hydration of the migrant workers to combat the new type of kidney disease which is linked with temperature and climate and may be one of the first epidemics caused due to global warming.

Similarly, Mr. Anil Keshary Shah, Nabil Bank’s CEO mentioned that the impact of the climate change on living organisms is high but small attentive measures can help everyone including the workers to mitigate the risk factors to some extent. For that, awareness amongst the migrant workers is quite crucial and for that Nabil Bank is always ready to assist in every way possible. The program was actively participated by all the participants who shared their views and experiences, including Mr. Prabin Adhikari, Executive Member of Nepal Remitters Association and Ms. Subarna Shrestha from Manpower Agency.

As a closing remarks, Dr, Thaneswor Bhusal, Under Secretary of Ministry of Labor Employment and Social Security also shared some of his experiences and learnings about the effect of climate change on workers and also assured that anyone willing to work on such researches will be provided assistance with resources from their end. Mr. Bhusal expressed his gratitude towards Nabil Bank for acting as the bridge amongst all the stakeholders and bringing everyone in one single forum to discuss on the serious issues related to migrant workers.