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Nepal
EXAMPLES OF OUR IMPACT
- With support from USAID and other donors, Nepal is one of very few countries on track to meet more than one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in health.
- USAID has trained over 65,000 disadvantaged youth in basic and business literacy, vocational skills, agriculture productivity, and enterprise development in the last three years.
- USAID reaches 3.6 million children, more than 90 percent of Nepal's children, with lifesaving vitamin A, averting approximately 15,000 deaths among children under the age of five annually.
USAID/NEPAL SITE
nepal.usaid.gov
CONTACTS
Mission Director
David Atteberry
USAID/Kathmandu
DOS/USAID
6190 Kathmandu Place
Washington DC 20521-6190
Tel: 977-1-400-7200
Acting Desk Officer
Caitlin Hall
Tel: (202) 712-1159
E-mail: cahall@usaid.gov
A USAID-supported outreach worker provides home care services to an HIV/AIDS patient. Such efforts have proved crucial in rural Nepal, where stigma and discrimination prevail, causing people to be hesitant to disclose their HIV/AIDS status. (Photo: USAID) 
Overview
Nepal's decade-long insurgency ended in 2006 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The country's leading political parties are now faced with the challenge of following through on the CPA by drafting a new constitution. While there is progress on political reform and in addressing critical development challenges, advances are slowed by ongoing changes in government leadership and by interest groups jostling for power through nationwide general strikes and by blocking government functions.
Although Nepal has achieved remarkable improvements over the past few decades, it remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with an estimated 55 percent of Nepalese falling below the international poverty line of $1.25 per day. USAID programs are working with the Government of Nepal to address the effects of the country's poor economic performance and advance Nepal’s political transition by strengthening citizens’ participation; improving the quality of the lives of Nepalis through the development of equitable and well-governed health systems; increasing incomes and employment in rural areas by addressing the lack of economic opportunities, policy reform, and social exclusion; and addressing the challenges of food insecurity and climate change. In each of these areas, there is a special focus on disaster risk reduction and supporting Nepal's youth and socially disadvantaged populations.
In 2010, Nepal was named a focus country under all three presidential development initiatives—Feed the Future, the Global Health Initiative, and the Global Climate Change Initiative—which will improve USAID's ability to expand development efforts in Nepal.
Programs
Governing Justly and Democratically
USAID is fostering citizen participation in Nepal by strengthening government institutions at the national level, and by building the capacity of key democratic institutions, such as the Election Commission, the legislature, and political parties, to become more democratic, inclusive, and effective. Complementing activities conducted at the national level, USAID projects at the local level focus on building the capacity of local communities to better direct their own development and to hold political parties and local government accountable to the communities they serve. USAID is also working with the Government of Nepal and local non-governmental organizations to strengthen their services to one of Nepal's most vulnerable populations—citizens at high risk for trafficking or who are trafficking survivors.
Investing in People: Health and Education
USAID programs in the health sector support the Government of Nepal to provide sustainable, accessible, and quality basic health services to its citizens, particularly the poor, and to strengthen its governance and service delivery systems. This assistance is expanding proven interventions that reduce maternal, neonatal, and child mortality to additional geographical areas. The programs also contribute to areas recognized in the Government of Nepal's health plan, such as disability, water and sanitation, and disaster preparedness. Programs are increasing consumer awareness and demand for quality health products and supporting small- and medium-sized Nepalese businesses to profitably manufacture and sell these products. USAID also supports the Government of Nepal's efforts to strengthen early childhood education by updating its curriculum and improving teacher skills.
Economic Growth and Climate Change
Strategically targeted economic growth activities are improving the income-generating potential of the poorest of the poor, expanding youth's access to jobs, increasing farmers' incomes and food security, helping the Government of Nepal to address macroeconomic and agricultural sector policies, and improving Nepal's business environment for private sector–led growth.
Building upon recently completed activities focused on agriculture development and natural resources management, USAID's new Hariyo Ban Nepal ko Dhan ("Green Forests") activity will reduce threats to biodiversity and the vulnerabilities of global climate change through interventions in two critical bio-diverse landscapes: the Gandaki River Basin and the Terai Arc-Landscape. New economic growth efforts will also encourage competitiveness and exports; improve trade and fiscal policies and practices; and strengthen microfinance policies and institutions by working with the government, the private sector, think tanks, and civil society. The Feed the Future Initiative will focus on improving incomes and nutritional status of poor Nepalis by promoting high-value agriculture, improved nutrition practices, and addressing policy issues.
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