Introduction
On 25th April 2015 the Himalayan country Nepal faced a devastating earthquake whose aftereffects are still felt by the Nepalese people. The earthquake turned out to be a huge catastrophe for the economically weak and less developed country of Nepal as they did not possess the financial, infrastructural and medical facilities to help their people out of the tragedy. The death tolls reached above 8,700 people while above 22,000 were left injured. From the 75 districts in the country, 31 were left impacted by the earthquake and around 14 were damaged heavily. The hardest hit districts saw 95 percent of the building and structures destroyed (UNDP, 2015). The earthquake disrupted life of 5.6 million Nepalese people and the recovery efforts were instigated within few days of the earthquake. Organizations such as Nepal Red Cross, UNDP, and International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) worked in association with the Nepalese government for the recovery process, which still remains a work-in-progress (Rai, 2016).
Affected Areas and People
Out of the 75 districts in Nepal, 14 districts were damaged irrepressibly and the reconstruction costs were estimated at above $10 billion, which is a very high number for a very poor country. Around 3 million Nepalese people, including children and women were displaced due to the earthquake and 800,000 houses were damaged or destroyed. Among the damaged houses, 23 percent were owned by senior citizens and 41 percent were owned by indigenous communities and the lower caste. Around 26 percent of the damaged houses were led by female members. The earthquake has affected females and people from economically backward communities and physical disabilities most and these groups are failing to cope with the earthquake’s aftereffects. The city centres from the worst affects regions were left in the ruins and significant loss of public infrastructure was lost. Several frontline government services experienced obstruction and thousands of people experienced loss of livelihood and many had to lose their business (UNDP, 2015).
The UNDP has been assisting the Nepalese Government to prepare a response to the overwhelming consequences of the earthquakes and push for recovery in Nepal. With their three-year comprehensive plan, under Nepalese government’s leadership, UNDP has been focused on four core issues. These issues are supporting the national planning; coordinate and institutionalized strengthening of the NRA (National Reconstruction Authority); economic recovery and livelihoods of Nepali communities, restoring public service delivery and governance systems; and working together to build a tragedy resilient Nepal. UNDP has been working through their established networks for delivering assistance where the need arises. Additional emphasis was placed on the transparency and accountability throughout the recovery, to ensure that present inequalities and vulnerabilities, environmental concerns and gender issues are addressed. Along with the support of Nepalese government and development partners, UNDP in Nepal has been successful in achieving few tangible results in the last one year (UNDP, 2015).
The IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies)
has also experienced success in the recovery process as they have completed their humongous operation of emergency response by reaching around 620,000 people in the deeply affected regions. As a response to the Nepal Earthquake, their success has been their coverage and speed of reaching out to the people and helping with first aid and supplies. Nepal Red Cross volunteers have provided several emergency services like first aid and rescue and they have also distributed relief supplies to thousands in need. The volunteers have also suffered losses, while helping as several Red Cross buildings have been destroyed or damaged. Several members of the Red Cross staff have suffered losses in financial and human terms. But, Nepal Red Cross has still been able to help around 620,000 people in the grief stricken area. Nepal Red Cross has been successful in reaching worst-hit regions such as Lamjung and has managed to supply 2.000 self-recovery kits and establish temporary homes for the locals (IFRC, 2015).
Ongoing Recovery
Cash grants have been provided by Red Cross to help the financially struggling farmers to kick-start their business. Conditional grants of 5,000 Nepalese rupees have been useful for many farmers as they invested in fertilizers and seeds. Many farmers have been able to use the grant money to hire help and increase the number of plantings. Several farmers have experienced increased incomes due to the grants they have received on time from the Red Cross. Rural Nepal is still struggling and would continue to struggle for coming years, but the initial signs have been promising as many farmers have shown the possible way ahead and better education of farming would be a great help for redeveloping agriculture in the country (IFRC, 2016).
The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) has continually been working with the Nepalese Government and the local NGOs to support the rehabilitation and recovery work in Nepal. FAO has been working in the community with the local leaders to perform rehabilitation efforts in the communities worst affected by the earthquake. FAO has been working with the water-user groups to rehabilitate the irrigation schemes, who are receiving training for repairing and maintaining the proposed schemes. By ensuring the presence of community leadership and providing trainings for repair and maintenance, and developing decision making processes and effective monitoring in communities; FAO is ensuring the long term sustainability of proposed projects. For example, in the Lapse community, the water-user group has been registered as a local cooperative that would benefit from the training provided by the FAO (FAO, 2016).
The rebuilding process is still a work-in-progress as funds and supplies have flown in from different countries, charitable organizations and other NGOs. Countries such as Canada and the United States have come up and invested millions in the redevelopment of infrastructure. Organizations such as Oxfam have been working to rebuild infrastructure and basic necessities of the locals. The healthcare system of Nepal that was found out during the Earthquake is being built from the ground-up. NRA has been assigned to spend 4.1 billion USD for the development needs and ensuring people who have been displaced have food and shelter to survive (Lamsal, 2016).
Conclusion
Nepal was struck by a devastating earthquake in April 2015 and for the last year the economically weak country has been working towards the recovery of their infrastructure and helping their people get basic necessities such as food and shelter. In the meantime, organizations such as Red Cross, UNDP, etc. have played a major role in ensuring that the worst affected areas and people were provided help during their time of distress in the form of medical aid, supplies, food and building shelter. Currently, the recovery work is an ongoing process as several organizations have banded together with the government of Nepal to redevelop the infrastructure and invest in food and shelter needs of the people.
References
FAO. (2015, 18 March). FAO’s recovery and rehabilitation work in Nepal following the earthquakes. Retrieved 10 April 2016 from, http://www.fao.org/emergencies/fao-in-action/stories/stories-detail/en/c/394195/
IFRC. (2015, 23 October). Nepal earthquake – six months on the long road to recovery. Retrieved 10 April 2016 from, http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/news-stories/asia-pacific/nepal/nepal-earthquake--six-months-on-the-long-road-to-recovery--69533/
IFRC. (2016, 8 April). Planting the Seeds of Nepal’s recovery. Retrieved 10 April 2016 from, http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/news-stories/asia-pacific/nepal/planting-the-seeds-for-nepals-recovery----72098/
Lamsal., P. (2016, 2 February). Post-earthquake Nepal: rebuilding WASH facilities, rebuilding a nation. Retrieved 10 April 2016 from, http://www.wateraid.org/news/blogs/2016/february/post-earthquake-nepal-rebuilding-wash-facilities-rebuilding-a-nation
Rai., R. (2016, 3 February). Nepal’s tourist valley still to recover from quake. Retrieved 10 April 2016 from, http://www.thethirdpole.net/2016/02/03/nepals-tourist-valley-still-to-recover-from-quake/
UNDP. (2015). Earthquake Recovery Response. Retrieved 10 April 2016 from, http://www.np.undp.org/content/nepal/en/home/others/earthquake-recovery-response.html
