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Nepal
SNAPSHOT
Date of unification: 1768
Capital: Kathmandu
Population: 27.1 million
Annual income per person: $270
Source: World Bank Development Indicators 2006
USAID IN NEPAL
usaid.gov/np
CONTACTS
Mission Director
Beth Paige
USAID/Nepal
DOS/USAID
6190 Kathmandu Place
Washington DC 20521-6190
Tel: 977-1-427-0144
Zdenek Suda
Desk Officer
office of South Asia Affairs
Tel: (202) 712-1115
Email:zsuda@usaid.gov
By uniting small farmers and training them in techniques to ensure product quality,
USAID/Nepal's coffee public-private partnership programs has established a strong
and growing specialty coffee industry in Nepal. Since 2002, the number of smallholder
families producing coffee commercially has grown from 3,650 to over 14,400, benefiting
over 90,000 Nepalis. (Photo: Winrock)
Overview
In November 2006, the Nepal government and Maoist insurgents signed a landmark peace agreement that ended the 12-year conflict. For the first time in years, the people of Nepal have reason to be optimistic that peace will return and democratic transition will take root. USAID shares that optimism, but implementation of the peace agreement and restoration of representative government in rural areas remain significant challenges. Sustainable peace and strong democracy also hinges on economic and social recovery in the countryside. The protracted conflict has shattered the Nepalese economy and exacerbated poverty, which is evidenced in some of the worst poverty and health statistics regionally and globally. Economic opportunities and local government services need to be ensured and expanded in order restore public faith in government. US assistance is playing a crucial role in supporting the transition to peace, building strong and representative government, establishing the rule of law and ending human rights abuses, and in addressing social inequality and poverty.
Programs
Peace and Security
USAID programs promote peace and ease the negative effects of the conflict through rural infrastructure projects that provide quick income and jobs to under-served and conflict-affected populations. USAID assists conflict victims by providing comprehensive medical and psychosocial care for them and their families, and works with the government to support national and community peace building initiatives. All programs emphasize participation of women and lower castes in the national dialogue for peace.
In order to respond to the current political transition, USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) has established a two-year program to energize and strengthen peace and democracy. The program is a fast, flexible program designed to bolster the current peace process; strengthen governance mechanisms; and support positive community engagement in the country's political, social, and economic future.
Governing Justly and Democratically
USAID works to combat endemic corruption and lack of access to justice. Efforts include strengthening the integrity of government planning and implementation and improving anti-corruption systems and legal frameworks. USAID programs strengthen electoral and political processes to restore representative democracy, as well as civil society efforts to monitor these processes. USAID works to decrease human rights violations, including the trafficking of women and girls, through support to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and programs providing training and employment opportunities to those most at risk of trafficking.
Investing In People: Health
Since 1991, USAID has helped Nepal reduce its fertility rate by 35 percent. Nepal’s child mortality rate has also dropped by 45 percent since 1996. But while maternal mortality ratio has significantly dropped to 281 per 100,000 births, it is still among the highest in the region. Nepal’s concentrated HIV epidemic threatens to spread into the general population. To address these issues, USAID provides funding for high-quality family planning services, maternal and child health programs and efforts to combat HIV/AIDS. To improve the health of mothers and children, USAID trains health workers at all levels, focuses on state-of-the-art community approaches and provides medical supplies to ensure more people can access health services. USAID's activities maximize participation of all communities in order to mitigate exclusion.
Economic Growth
Eighty-five percent of Nepalis depend on subsistence agriculture and forest products for their livelihood. USAID has helped pioneer efforts with community resource user groups (forest, water) to manage resources in a way that is ecologically sound and beneficial to all members of the community. One of USAID’s programs has generated over 2.3 million person-days of temporary employment by paying rural poor in conflict-affected areas to construct infrastructure projects, mainly construction of rural roads and mule trails in ten remote districts. More than 400,000 people benefit from these programs. USAID’s agriculture sector programs have reached over 500,000 individuals in conflict-affected areas, increasing household incomes by at least 100 percent. USAID also helps Nepal meet its World Trade Organization obligations.
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