Local Systems Strengthening: Nepal

Background

Globalisation, particularly the pairing of mass production and global supply chains, is a hugely effective model for the provision of manufactured goods. However, it also leads to a reduction in the number of independent products and services available to customers, with a lack of context specific product development. The fragility of these supply chains has been exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assistive Technology (AT) has been particularly affected by the supply chain disruption and a lack of local service provision during the pandemic.

We believe that now is the time to re-examine where more localised product and service innovation could complement global supply chains to unlock more sustainable and resilient AT ecosystems. We believe there is an opportunity to create better connections between the AT community and local manufacturers, with both newer digital and traditional fabrication expertise to enable innovation. We want to bring together local and global expertise working in the AT sector to identify routes that could unlock local innovation, and improve current gaps in service, such as repair which is often under-supported and a limiting factor in the impact of provision, contributing to high abandonment rates in low resource settings.

In Nepal, we have begun with the Enabling Fridays Initiative, where we have convened a local stakeholder group to set the direction for what needs to be addressed to enable local product and service innovations that could fill gaps in current AT provision models.