Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. A quarter of the general population lives below the poverty line and are subsistence farmers. Tourism and foreign exchange serve as the country’s source of much-needed foreign currency.
Almost half of all children are undernourished or malnourished. Conditioned by its geographical location, Nepal is highly prone to natural disasters like earthquakes, landslides and floods.
On the 25th of April 2015, Nepal was struck by one of the most powerful earthquakes seen in the last 80 years. At least five strong aftershocks followed, especially in the rural regions. The official death toll is 8,699, with more than 22,000 people wounded. According to the Nepalese government, over half a million houses were destroyed or severely damaged and around 2.8 million people lost their homes.
On the day following the first disaster, a Malteser International Advance Team – joined in the following days by a further group of medical specialists – was dispatched to the crisis region to provide emergency relief. After providing initial emergency medical and psychological aid to the survivors, Malteser International concentrated its efforts on the population of the outlying rural regions: distributing aid materials (food, household items and building materials) to families in need and providing medical care to affected people by operating a temporary clinic and providing hospitals with medicines. Given the major scale of the disaster, our support for the country and people went beyond our emergency aid.
Following the emergency relief phase, we implemented projects in areas of health, shelter, water and sanitation as well as trainings in disaster risk reduction. More than 22,000 people now have access to quality health services, including mental health and psychosoical services. Through efforts aimed at reconstruction, we have rehabilitated more than 30 water supply systems and built over 250 earthquake-resilient houses for families in need. By emphasizing the importance of using quality materials, as well as training local masons in sustainable building techniques, we ensured that these techniques can be replicated once the project has finished.
At the end of August 2019, Malteser International closed its offices in Nepal. However, we will continue to work through our local partners in the country to strenthen the resilience of communities through participatory methods that putting people in the center of our action.
Emergency relief missions are probably what comes to most people’s minds when they hear the words ‘humanitarian aid’, or ‘disaster relief’. However, emergency missions are actually just one part of a much bigger proces that goes on for years before and after disasters.
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In the Nepalese village of Pagretar, the 2015 earthquake rendered 95 per cent of the houses uninhabitable. Latima and her family lost their home too. Malteser International helped them to rebuild.
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Project regions:
Sunsari Distrikt, Sindhulpalchowk Distrikt, Nuwakot Distrikt.
Partners:
RSDC, CDECF, ICSC, Koshish
Daniel Hilbring
+49-(0)221-96441-232
Email: daniel.hilbring(at)malteser-international.org
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