Nepal Earthquake - Fact Sheet #24

September 30, 2015

Highlights

Post-earthquake recovery activities continue

WFP utilizes trekking infrastructure to deliver aid

Number of earthquake-affected people requiring immediate food assistance declines

Government delays impede release of reconstruction funds

Key Developments

The overall humanitarian situation in Nepal has steadily improved following the April 25 earthquake. The UN reports that most of the damaged health facilities have resumed essential public services; relief organizations have delivered food assistance to more than 2 million people in the 14 most-affected districts; and approximately 75 percent of earthquake-affected households have received shelter support. In addition, early recovery activities are underway in some districts, according to the UN and other relief organizations.

The Government of Nepal (GoN) formally endorsed a long-awaited draft of the country’s constitution during the week of September 14 and signed the constitution into law on September 20. During the same week, the GoN sought to pass a bill formally establishing the National reconstruction Authority (NRA)—the government body intended to oversee rebuilding after the April earthquake. However, the Nepali Parliament was unable to agree on key elements of the bill, and the NRA cannot fund reconstruction and rehabilitation work without the bill in place. The International Development Partner Group—led by the UN and comprising Kathmandu-based foreign diplomatic missions, including the United States— has called on the GoN and Parliament to finalize the legislation, three months after an international donors’ conference raised more than $4 billion in pledges to rebuild the country.

Logistical challenges, which have persisted since the beginning of the earthquake response, are currently exacerbated by strikes at the Nepal–India border and limited fuel availability. Humanitarian organizations report that the lack of fuel has halted movement of goods into and within the country, including the delivery of essential supplies to earthquake-affected districts, many of which are in remote areas of Nepal. Unrest in southern Nepal’s Terai region has also delayed procurement and distribution of critical winterization materials to help earthquake-affected populations prepare for the upcoming cold weather months.

HUMANITARIAN ACCESS AND LOGISTICS

The April 25 earthquake resulted in a downturn in tourism and decreased income revenues for many communities across Nepal, particularly those in remote parts of the country that rely on trekking. Utilizing the existing trekking infrastructure, the UN World Food Program (WFP) is providing economic opportunities to earthquake-affected people while delivering food and other emergency relief supplies to hard-to-reach areas of Nepal. WFP’s Remote Access Operations (RAO) program is helping to rehabilitate trekking and community trails for the safe passage of supplies and linking people and goods to markets. Five of the most remote earthquake-affected districts—Dhading, Dolakha, Gorkha, Rasuwa, and Sindhupalchok—are implementing RAO. As of September 15, RAO had employed nearly 15,300 people and reached nearly 46,000 people with more than 430 metric tons (MT) of humanitarian cargo.

Following a reduction in operations due to funding shortages, the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) resumed transportation of humanitarian cargo and personnel in Nepal in September. WFP, the lead agency for the Logistics Cluster—the coordinating body for humanitarian logistical activities that comprises UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other stakeholders—reports that UNHAS is implementing a partial cost-recovery funding model that requires UNHAS services users to pay 20 percent of the cost of transporting their humanitarian personnel and cargo. Between April 25 and September 15, UNHAS transported more than 1,780 MT of cargo to more than 140 different locations on behalf of 153 organizations.

USAID/OFDA has provided nearly $10.6 million to partners, including WFP, to enhance humanitarian logistical capacity and provide emergency relief items to address the needs of earthquake-affected households in Nepal.

DISPLACEMENT AND SHELTER

The most recent International Organization for Migration (IOM) Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) survey— conducted from late August through early September in 120 displacement sites in 13 earthquake-affected districts—found that the number of people living in the assessed sites decreased to 58,700 from approximately 59,400 in the last DTM survey. IOM noted that the decrease could reflect some household members returning to areas of origin to repair or rebuild their houses or people departing to seek better livelihood opportunities. The proportion of females in the assessed sites has steadily increased during each DTM survey.

According to the Shelter Cluster, more than 532,000 households had received emergency shelter assistance, including plastic sheeting and tents, and nearly 260,000 households had received a household kit and/or blankets as of August 25. The cluster continues prioritizing hard-to-reach areas, tracking distributions at the Village Development Committee level.

IOM reports that, with assistance from USAID/OFDA and other donors, the organization and its local partners had provided shelter and relief commodities to more than 131,000 households as of September 17.

In FY 2015, USAID/OFDA supported humanitarian partners with more than $8 million for emergency shelter interventions across earthquake-affected districts of Nepal.

HEALTH AND PROTECTION

The earthquake damaged or destroyed more than 900 health facilities in Nepal, according to WFP. Working with the UN World Health Organization (WHO), WFP is helping establish temporary medical clinics in 11 earthquake-affected districts. Of 44 proposed clinics, 37 were constructed and two remained in progress as of September 15, according to WFP.

The UN Population Fund, on behalf of the Reproductive Health Sub-Cluster, distributed nearly 900 reproductive health kits to address the needs of approximately 115,000 people in the 14 most-affected districts as of mid-August. In addition, sub-cluster partners worked with the GoN Ministry of Health and Population to bring reproductive health care—including health education, antenatal and postnatal checkups, family planning, laboratory testing facilities, management of sexually transmitted infections, psychosocial and gender-based violence (GBV) support services, and referrals—to more than 61,000 people in the earthquake-affected districts, according to the UN.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has established more than 200 child-friendly spaces that have served more than 16,000 children in Nepal since the earthquake. Child-friendly spaces address specific needs—such as protection, psychosocial support, and non-formal education—and are used as transitional structures bridging to early recovery and long‐term support for vulnerable children.

To combat human trafficking, UNICEF has partnered with two local NGOs to scale up or establish 12 screening and interception points along the borders with China and India and within earthquake-affected districts. UNICEF and local partners are also supporting 11 transit centers to support human trafficking victims with temporary shelter, psychosocial support, and relief items, as well as conducting surveillance and awareness-raising activities, in the most-affected districts. Such methods enabled authorities to intercept at least 725 people, including more than 330 children, at risk of being trafficked since the earthquake, according to UNICEF.

Since 2010, the USAID-funded Combating Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) program, implemented by The Asia Foundation, has worked with GoN stakeholders to combat trafficking and address the vulnerabilities of marginalized groups in Nepal, including survivors of human trafficking and GBV. Following the April 25 earthquake, CTIP expanded operations to six earthquake-affected districts—Dhading, Dolakha, Lalitpur, Nuwakot, Ramechhap, and Rasuwa—to provide legal, psychosocial, and other services to help mitigate increased risks of trafficking and GBV associated with earthquake-related economic instability. In FY 2015, USAID/OFDA supported the Asia Foundation with $450,000 for CTIP activities.

In total, USAID/OFDA has provided nearly $950,000 in FY 2015 to address health needs and $450,000 to support protection activities in Nepal.

FOOD SECURITY

WFP reported on September 15 that an analysis by the Nepal Food Security Monitoring System (NeKSAP) found the number of earthquake-affected people requiring immediate food assistance has reduced three-fold to 530,000 across 11 districts, aided by food and emergency relief commodity deliveries as well as improved access to functioning markets. Initially established by WFP, the GoN’s Ministry of Agricultural Development and the National Planning Commission are currently in the process of institutionalizing NeKSAP.

During WFP’s recently concluded second emergency response phase, the organization reached more than 978,000 people with nearly 8,300 MT of food commodities, including rice, pulses, and cooking oil. WFP is currently implementing a cashfor-work program to complement its food assistance activities. The program, which enables populations to purchase available food at local marketplaces, provides cash in exchange for 10 days per month of asset-creation work, including community trail rehabilitation and tree planting. WFP reports that the number of people reached with food and cash assistance in the second emergency response phase represents 100 percent of the people it planned to serve.

In FY 2015, USAID/OFDA provided more than $1 million to support agricultural, food security, and economic recovery interventions for earthquake-affected populations. In addition, USAID/FFP provided $6.9 million to support WFP’s emergency food assistance operations in Nepal, as well as $2.5 million to ACTED, which is providing short-term livelihoods support to approximately 2,250 food-insecure households in five of Nepal’s most earthquake-affected districts.

INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE

On September 18, the Government of Japan (GoJ) announced a $1 million extension of its emergency grant aid to WFP for the delivery of relief supplies to earthquake-affected populations. The GoJ support will assist WFP air transportation for emergency commodities to isolated and mountainous areas.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) announced a €6 million—approximately $6.7 million—allocation under its current Humanitarian Implementation Plan to address ongoing humanitarian needs resulting from the Nepal earthquake.

As of September 30, the USG had provided more than $64 million for earthquake response efforts in Nepal, while other international donors had provided nearly $411 million, according to the UN. Donors had funded at approximately $242 million—57 percent—of the $422 million requested in the UN flash appeal.

PUBLIC DONATION INFORMATION

The most effective way people can assist relief efforts is by making cash contributions to humanitarian organizations that are conducting relief operations. A list of humanitarian organizations that are accepting cash donations for disaster responses around the world can be found at www.interaction.org.

USAID encourages cash donations because they allow aid professionals to procure the exact items needed (often in the affected region); reduce the burden on scarce resources (such as transportation routes, staff time, and warehouse space); can be transferred very quickly and without transportation costs; support the economy of the disaster-stricken region; and ensure culturally, dietary, and environmentally appropriate assistance.

More information can be found at:

• The Center for International Disaster Information: www.cidi.org or +1.202.821.1999.
• Information on relief activities of the humanitarian community can be found at www.reliefweb.int.