Snapshot of USAID Assistance

Nepal Quarterly Newsletter, April-June 2015

USAID had 15 ongoing projects and additional USAID/OFDA supported emergency relief efforts that provided emergency relief to the districts most heavily affected by the earthquake and aftershocks. Below are some highlighted activities in key programmatic sectors:

SHELTER

• Delivered 6,200 rolls of plastic sheeting, providing much-needed shelter and protection for up to 310,000 Nepalis.
• According to the IOM, an estimated 118,000 displaced people were sheltering in approximately 410 displacement sites across 15 districts. With $2 million in USAID support, IOM continues to gather, analyze, and disseminate information on the number and condition of displaced persons, develop targeted response strategies, and deliver shelter supplies to populations in need.

FOOD AID

• To date, USAID has provided $6.9 million to support WFP’s emergency food assistance operations in Nepal. This contribution is part of a larger effort to provide food and/or cash rations to over 1.9 million people, and will continue to provide assistance to remote communities that are not able to link to markets.

ACCESS TO WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE (WASH)

• Approximately 1.1 million people do not have access to reliable water supplies or sanitation facilities due to earthquake damage. Water systems may be further damaged in the monsoon. To date, USAID has provided more than $2.7 million to support water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions in Dhading, Dolakha, Gorkha, Kathmandu, Lamjung, Nuwakot, Rasuwa, and Sindhupalchowk districts. USAID efforts include conducting hygiene promotion activities, repairing water supply infrastructure, assisting with the construction of temporary emergency latrines, and providing safe drinking water and essential WASH supplies.
• USAID’s integrated nutrition program, Suaahara, helped build temporary latrines in relief camps to reduce the risk of diseases while promoting healthy behaviors such as hand washing with soap and boiling water or using chlorine solution to treat drinking water. With the help of local communities, 10 temporary latrines were built in relief camps of Betrawati and Gherkhu VDC in Nuwakot, where more than 100 families from Rasuwa have taken refuge.

MEDICAL ASSISTANCE AND ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES

• In Nepal’s 14 most-affected districts, the April 25 earthquake and aftershocks damaged more than 1,000 health facilities and affected access to health care services for nearly 5.1 million people. Relief agencies are working to increase access to health services in earthquake-affected areas, including access to reproductive and mental health services.
• USAID’s integrated nutrition program, Suaahara, led emergency nutrition and WASH efforts in earthquake-affected areas, particularly in Gorkha, Sindhupalchowk, Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Lamjung and Dolakha. Suaahara immediately deployed 25 Community Medical Assistants in the six priority districts and supported relief supply distribution (tarpaulins, baby kits, food, and water purification solutions) in 3 districts.
• Suaahara coordinated with UNICEF to distribute nutritional supplies for malnourished children and provided staff training in Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies and Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition. The program created safe areas for mothers and babies to promote breastfeeding, providing individual and group counseling on nutrition and showcased food demonstrations and distributed mother-baby kits.
• Suaahara continues to provide information on health, hygiene, sanitation, reproductive health, nutrition, and breastfeeding through the BhanchhinAama radio program, a 15-minute radio program in 10 districts on 24 local FM stations as well as Radio Nepal. In this radio program, the Aama (mother) character raises concerns sent in through SMS and toll free numbers to an expert who provides an evidence-informed answer. The radio program receives approximately 600 queries per week.
• As of June 9, USAID’s partner Handicap International reported supporting medical services for more than 1,150 earthquake-affected people across seven districts—Bhaktapur, Kathmandu, Kavrepalanchowk, Lalitpur, Nuwakot, Rasuwa, and Sindhupalchowk.
• With more women giving birth outside of health facilities with little to no access to health care and services, USAID’s Chlorhexidine Navi Care program supplied 42,500 of the life-saving Chlorhexidine gel tubes for inclusion in the Clean Delivery Kits distributed in the most-affected districts.
• USAID worked with partners Save the Children and UNICEF to support the establishment of 132 child-friendly spaces in 13 of the 14 districts most affected by the earthquake, providing an estimated 12,600 vulnerable children with safe environments in which to play.
• USAID recently provided WHO nearly $200,000 to increase access to mental health services and coordinate mental health and psychosocial support services in earthquake-affected areas. WHO plans to establish a network of trained physicians to provide mental health services in the 14 most-affected districts and collaborate with the appropriate health and protection sub-clusters to ensure a coordinated response.
• Following a rapid assessment, USAID´s Saath-Saath Project provided services to People Living with HIV in Kathmandu, Kavrepalanchowk, Lalitpur and Nuwakot through Positive Prevention and Community and Home-Based Care services.
• USAID/Nepal supported Nepal Contraceptive Retail Sales Company (CRS) in distributing 72,950 sachets of Nava Jeevan (oral rehydration salts), 8,800 bottles of Piyush (water purification) and 254 Clean Delivery Kits for safe child delivery in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Latitpur, Dhading, Sindhupalchowk, Gorkha, Lamjung, Ramechhap, Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dolkha, Okaldhunga, Solukhumbu and Tanahu.
• CRS also coordinated with the Army Police Hospital and distributed 500 sanitary napkins to displaced persons in these same districts.

LIVELIHOOD SUPPORT AND FOOD SECURITY

• In Khotang, Ramechhap, and Okhaldhunga districts, USAID’s community resilience and livelihood program SABAL is implementing cash-for-work to the hardest-hit families, so they can begin the enormous task of rebuilding damaged homes and much-needed infrastructure. Working closely with the local District Disaster Relief Committees, the program is providing immediate employment income to 600 households, whose efforts have been vital in salvaging debris for temporary shelters, restoring infrastructure such as health posts, schools, and government offices, repairing damaged trails, and helping rehabilitate irrigation canals and mini- hydro systems. The SABAL program’s cash-for-work activity will soon expand to Makawanpur and Sindhuli districts, reaching a total of 20 Village Development Committees (VDC) in the five districts.
• Also through a cash-for-work program in Sindhulpalchowk’s Chautara Municipality, USAID’s partner, IOM, has supported the removal of approximately 10,500 cubic meters of debris – improving safety and providing essential employment income.
• USAID released $1 million to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center to meet the immediate needs of farm communities in the earthquake-affected districts through the Cereal System Initiative for South Asia Nepal (CSISA-NP) program. CSISA-NP is partnering with Save the Children and Hellen Keller International to provide essential agricultural supplies and technical expertise – including 50,000 grain storage bags, 40 soft plastic cocoons for community grain storage, 400 mini-tillers and other modern agriculture power tools (reapers, maize shellers, mill machines, seeders, etc.), training for local mechanics on maintenance and repairs of those tools, community garden kits, and advice on agronomy support.
• Another USAID-funded program, the Integrated Pest Management – Innovation Lab, is providing agriculture relief and rehabilitation to help minimize the suffering and economic shocks in Kavre and Lalitpur districts. The program’s support includes access to supplies like seeds and seedlings, durable shelter materials, and trainings.
• Similarly, USAID’s integrated nutrition program, Suaahara, is supporting the re-establishment of vegetable gardens and poultry farms in six earthquake-affected districts – Rasuwa, Sindhupalchowk, Dolakha, Nuwakot, Gorkha and Lamjung. The program is coordinating closely with the Ministry of Agriculture and Development and other development partners in developing its response and recovery plan. Suaahara is providing vegetable seeds and helping set up community resource nurseries for village model farmers so that they can supply seeds/seedlings to households with pregnant and lactating women and children under two years of age.
• USAID’s Hariyo Ban (Green Forest) Program aims to promote safer, better and green recovery in Nepal. This early-recovery initiative will include, support to local communities and GoN to restore lives, livelihoods and biodiversity with resilient practices. These interventions will help to conserve water supplies, reduce risk of landslides and floods, and promote a sustainable supply of natural resources, including building materials for local communities.

EDUCATION

• USAID signed a new award with UNICEF to support the Government of Nepal’s priorities in the education sector. With $5.1 million in assistance, USAID established over 1,000 Temporary Learning Centers and provided teaching and learning materials in the earthquake-affected districts. The assistance incorporates gender-sensitive psychological support, positive care, life-saving messages, and access to separate water and sanitation facilities for girls and boys.

PROTECTION

• To increase protection against human trafficking, within the first few weeks after the April 25 earthquake, USAID’s Combating Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) program oversaw vulnerability assessments in five districts. These assessments highlighted the increased risk of exploitation, trafficking, sexual abuse, and gender-based violence (GBV) post-earthquake in already vulnerable districts.
• Then USAID/OFDA provided additional funding to expand activities of the six-year CTIP program to six additional districts (Nuwakot, Dhading, Rasuwa, Lalitpur, Rammechhap, and Dolakha) associated with an increase in risk factors for GBV, unsafe migration, and human trafficking as a result of the disaster. The interventions focus on community rehabilitation through psychosocial support, increased awareness of TIP and GBV, promotion and creation of economic/livelihood opportunities to help victims rebuild their lives, provision of legal support, and increased access to rehabilitation services and resources available from the Nepali government.
• Facilitating protection and rehabilitation, the CTIP program also began providing mobile counseling services to those in need of immediate psychosocial care in Sindhupalchowk, with a particular focus on vulnerable populations, in coordination with the District Health Office. CTIP also provided immediate medical treatment and psychological first aid to the earthquake affected people in Sindhupalchok.
• CTIP provided legal aid to four under-aged girls from Sindhupalchowk who were being taken to India with false promise of employment in Dubai.
• CTIP supported the Ministry of Women and Children’s Welfare to conduct a 2-day Indo-Nepal anti-TIP workshop in Jhapa - the first in a series of four cross-border workshops in Nepal. The workshop assembled 100 state and non-state actors from the border to discuss an operational framework for addressing post-disaster challenges to TIP.
• CTIP also recently released an awareness leaflet on safeguarding oneself and family members from potential threats. The leaflet was jointly released by USAID and the Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Welfare.

GOVERNANCE

• Sajhedari Bikaas, USAID’s five-year Partnership for Local Development program, recorded three public service announcements (PSAs) in mid-June on GBV prevention in emergency situations. The PSAs were aired in the 14 most affected districts through 50 FM stations.
• Also with support from the Sajhedari Bikaas project, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development issued operational guidelines on April 30 for immediate relief through local bodies in districts highly affected by the earthquake. The guidelines established a short-term committee in each VDC of the 14 most-affected earthquake districts. The mandate of the committees is allocation, mobilization, and monitoring of the disaster relief funds that were announced in each district. At the expiry of the committees in late July, Sajhedari Bikaas worked with the Ministry to renew/extend the mandate of the Authority and facilitate planning in target VDCs.
• USAID’s five-year Strengthening Political Parties, Electoral and Legislative Processes (SPPELP) project prepared a radio PSA aimed at raising awareness on disability in the post-earthquake humanitarian agenda.
• The SPPELP project also supported civil society to monitor budget allocation and spending, as well as the situation of vulnerable groups in camps. The program will also complement the Nepali-led reconstruction process based on principles of decentralization of the population and resources; inclusivity of assistance programs; transparency and accountability for aid delivery; specific methods for implementation of the plan; and extensive communication to citizens for input. Over the next 12 months, SPPELP will work closely with relevant parliamentary committees to organize reconstruction planning forums in four or five districts to gather input and suggestions from citizens, political party district-level representatives, Future Leadership Academy members, media, and local organizations.
• USAID’s Singha Durbar multi-media project to promote leadership and good governance, aired several radio episodes on its show GaunGaun Ma Singha Durbar (GGSD) regarding the local government’s earthquake response, as well as psycho-social concerns experienced by victims.

DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT

• In coordination with the GoN, USAID/OFDA continues to support UN and NGO partners to develop contingency plans and pre-position emergency relief commodities for earthquake-affected populations, as well as populations in areas at risk of flooding. To date, USAID/OFDA has provided more than $9.8 million to strengthen logistical capacity in Nepal and provide emergency relief items to earthquake-affected households.
• USAID programs are distributing disaster risk management public service announcements through partner FM stations, including messages to ‘build back better’ approved by the National Society for Earthquake Technology in Nepal.