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Nepal's Beauty and Grace Hide Poverty
FrontLines - February 2010
KATHMANDU, Nepal—Nepal has long
been loved for its beautiful Himalayas, its
peaceful and easy-going people, its ancient
culture, and the neatly groomed hillsides
of rice paddies climbing thousands of feet
into the sky.
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When the clouds lift, one sees the peaks of the Himalayan Mountains near Langtang Peak on the
China border. The tall trees are part of community forests protected by USAID programs.
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And while for 40 years it was
safe and free for visitors and Nepalese
to walk in the cities or trek
to villages far beyond the roads,
the Nepalese people lacked any
say in their government and lived
a quasi-feudal life of hardship—a
side of life that many visitors
failed to see. It was a life of poverty,
hunger, and illness caused by
lack of jobs, food, and health care.
Since 1951, a decade before
the creation of USAID, the
United States has provided more
than $1 billion in foreign assistance
to Nepal for education,
farming, infrastructure, health,
and government. USAID’s budget
in Nepal has remained about
$35 million to $45 million per
year for the last few years.
A quick visit to farms, villages,
and cities from the steep
Himalayan Mountains to the hot
Terai plains bordering India
reveals a country that has made
great progress but is still struggling
to overcome enormous
development problems.
Roads link major cities and
some towns, schools have opened,
and health programs are reaching
most rural communities.
But Nepal remains among the
poorest and least developed
countries in the world with
almost 60 percent of its 28 million
people living on less than
$1.25 a day, according to the
World Bank. Less than threequarters
of the people can read.
Nearly 40 percent of children
under five are below normal
weight. Nearly half the people
are unemployed, leading many
to seek jobs abroad in India,
Malaysia, and the Gulf states.
Poverty is linked in part to the
rugged environment. Steep
mountains impede transport and
use of farm machines. Monsoon
rains often lead to flooding,
landslides, and spoiled harvests.
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A Nepalese woman and child in a village near Langtang National Park near the border with China.
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Hydropower and tourism are
most likely to bring cash into
Nepal, but the country’s political
troubles have blocked progress
in many areas. A protracted conflict
from 1995-2006 reduced
investment and drove some factory
owners to flee to India. The
peace process—strongly supported
by USAID (see accompanying
article on peace)—ended
the fighting in 2006 and led to
elections that chose a Constituent
Assembly. In 2008, the
240-year-old monarchy was
ousted, but political stability
remains elusive.
Another damper on development
has been the long, landlocked
borders the country
shares with rival Asian giants
China and India.
Geographic isolation—along
with Buddhist and Hindu teachings
of acceptance and nonattachment—
let Nepal retain its
timeless ways as the world’s only
Hindu monarchy until 2006.
U.S. assistance—the focus of
the articles in this special
report—has already helped
achieve important results.
Since 1951, with U.S. assistance,
life expectancy has more
than doubled to 65, literacy has
grown, and many diseases have
been reduced.
In the 1950s, U.S. assistance
eliminated malaria from much of
the country, founded the College
of Education, trained the first
public health nurses, and created
the first telephone exchange.
In the 1960s, USAID backed
administration reforms, set up
104 health units, added a surgery
wing to Bir Hospital, helped
boost air traffic from 25,000 to
210,000 flights per year, and
opened an industrial park.
In the 1970s, USAID helped
double primary school enrollment,
built the Western Hills
road to link the Terai to the hills,
tripled the number of people getting
health services, introduced
family planning, and boosted
use of fertilizer by 18 percent.
In the 1980s, USAID promoted
the private sector and
NGOs, female literacy rose to
18 percent, some food-short
areas became surplus producers,
and real income rose an average
62 percent.
In the 1990s, Nepal became a
parliamentary democracy and
U.S. aid helped improve government
services, privatize some
state-run businesses, get women
to run for local and national
offices, deliver Vitamin A to
nearly 80 percent of districts,
and handed over 123,000 hectares
of forests to community
forest user groups.
The aid program continues
today.
★
FrontLines Editorial Director Ben Barber wrote this series of articles following a trip to Nepal in October. All photos by Ben Barber unless otherwise noted.
FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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Material should be submitted
by mail to Editor, FrontLines, USAID,
RRB, Suite 6.10, Washington, DC 20523-6100;
by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
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