EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On 27 May, the Nepal Ministry of Finance issued a decision: “Approval of top up cash transfer for early recovery for vulnerable population affected by the Earthquake”. This marks the beginning of a crucial intervention.
Proposed interventions:
This paper outlines a proposal to address the economic impact of the two earthquakes experienced in Nepal in April and May 2015 and possible further natural disasters connected to the earthquakes. It makes the case for two interventions in 2015:
- An immediate top up, in the 11 earthquake-affected districts, to existing cash transfer programs provided by the Government of Nepal (GoN) for senior citizens, widows and single women, Dalit children, and people living with disability. The top up is proposed to be disbursed in two instalments, in June and September 2015. The cost for the 2 instalments is calculated at approximately $US 16 million, and would need to be funded from donor funding or other special provisions.
- A universal child grant to all children under-5 in the same districts. This could be introduced as early as September 2015. The cost is calculated to range between at $US 555 thousand and US$ 1.4 million, depending on the benefit amount introduced.
The costs are a very modest share of the overall amount calculated in the OCHA consolidated appeal of April 2015.
These two interventions would be based on Nepal’s existing government-funded social protection system. The proposed universal child grant, geographically targeted to the earthquake effected districts, would gradually be merged into the Social Protection Framework that is under preparation by the GoN.
The disbursement of the cash transfer emergency top ups will be accompanied by behavioural change messages that can contribute to reducing the household’s vulnerability to disaster. These messages will be targeted both to specific vulnerable groups and to specific sectors, and linked to relief and recovery outcomes.
The interventions would be closely monitored and evaluated, with a complaints mechanism and scope for immediate adjustments.
Rationale:
The rationale for these interventions is obvious: the 2 earthquakes killed 8,631 people, and 11 districts with difficult access were severely affected. 2.8 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance. Over 860,000 people are in immediate need due to loss of shelter, limited road access and poverty. 1 million children are in urgent need of support, and over 360,000 children and 185,000 women require micronutrients supplementation and urgent health and nutrition attention. Almost half a million homes were destroyed. 870 million children are without classrooms to return to. Many children are traumatized and need psycho-social support. Moreover, in a country ranked 28 out of 199 in terms of multi-hazard risk, the earthquake has compounded vulnerability and increased risk posed by further earthquakes, floods, landslides and other shocks.
Even before the earthquake, children were among the country’s most vulnerable group. More than a third of Nepal’s 12.6 million children live below the national poverty line, and almost 70 per cent are deprived of at least one of the seven basic human needs - shelter, sanitation, water, information, food, education and health. In addition, under-five malnutrition stands at 41 per cent at the national level, with even higher prevalence when disaggregated regionally, by wealth quintile, or by gender, caste and other factors of disadvantage.
The interventions based proposed cannot alleviate the material and emotional suffering of the children affected, but are intended as an attempt to help supplement the most immediate household expenditure requirements, and then phase in a reliable, predictable form of income support for the medium term, firmly situated the government’s Framework for Social Protection, which follows the vision of a social protection floor for all.
Finally, it is hoped that the success of the proposed intervention during this emergency will constitute a tested mechanism that can be integrated into the menu of response options ready to be activated swiftly in the wake of another future emergency.