With the raging Covid-19 pandemic overwhelming Nepal’s healthcare system amidst lack of oxygen, beds and ventilators, questions are being raised if the country’s own diplomatic efforts have been far-reaching enough to secure overseas aid.

Panic-stricken commoners have been signing petitions to urge the world community to provide vaccines for Nepal, which is at a loss over bringing in the shots, considered the only option to save lives now, Kathmandu Post reported.

Former foreign secretary Durga Prasad Bhattarai regretted the lack of efforts on the part of the government to seek international support.

“Most of this assistance is coming from the donor side since they have realized that they should support Nepal. But I have not seen any sincere effort on the part of the government to seek international aid in this time of crisis,” bemoaned Bhattarai.

Nepal has received 400 oxygen cylinders from China which has pledged to provide 3,500 as a grant although oxygen manufacturers have been saying they need 20,000.

On Friday, 24 oxygen concentrators came from Thailand.

But there needs to be more diplomatic outreach to garner aid, analysts say.

On Thursday, former foreign secretary and ambassador Madhu Raman Acharya addressed Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali on Twitter and asked him to announce a “ humanitarian crisis” in the country and prepare a list of Nepal’s requirements and correspond at the head of government level for assistance to fight the pandemic.

Acharya also advised Gyawali to apprise the Kathmandu-based diplomatic community of the situation on the ground and to mobilize Nepali missions abroad.

In response to Acharya’s tweet, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there have been separate correspondences with the neighboring countries, development partners and the highest diplomatic level for aid including vaccines.

But former diplomats are not convinced.

 “We do not know whether the government has sought support from the international community or not or if it has asked Nepal’s mission to ramp up their efforts to get the support,” Leela Mani Paudyal, a former chief secretary and ambassador to China, told the Post. “We have not seen the results yet since the pandemic has hit the country hard for over one month.”

Nepal has its ambassadors in nations it considers its most important development partners – India, China and the US.

But they have not been active, according to sources within the Foreign Ministry.

“All three ambassadors are hunkered down due to age and health-related issues,” a joint secretary at the Foreign Ministry told the Post on condition of anonymity.

A Nepali diplomat based in Washington DC told the Post over the phone that Nepal has sought three to five million AstraZeneca vaccines from the US government.

The US has already announced that it would share 60 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine with the world within a few months.

 “But US officials have communicated to us that the US National Security Council and Department of Health and Human Services make the final call on vaccine support,” the diplomat told the Post.

The US embassy in Kathmandu has said that the pandemic aid is not about trading favors.

“The United States won’t trade shots in arms for political favors. This is about saving lives,” said an embassy statement.