China recovery aid reached over 31,800 households in flood-affected areas of Tarai

March 26, 2018

UNDP, with funding support from the Government of the People’s Republic of China, has provided recovery support to over 31,800 families affected by the 2017 floods over the last three months.

UNDP announced the final achievements of the recovery project at a closing ceremony organized in Kathmandu in the presence of representatives from the Government of Nepal, Chinese Embassy to Nepal, local governments of the project’s target districts and the media.

In early January, UNDP had launched the post-flood recovery project in seven most affected districts of Tarai – Sunsari, Saptari, Sarlahi, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Rautahat and Parsa of Provinces 1 and 2 – following a US$4 million grant agreement with the Government of the People’s Republic of China. The assistance was provided under the framework of the Chinese South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund.

This assistance was in response to the extensive damage and displacement caused by the 2017 floods in the country’s south. In August last year, the Terai experienced the heaviest rainfall recorded in the past 60 years, resulting in widespread flooding across 35 districts, taking the lives of 160 people, destroying over 43,000 houses, partially damaging 192,000 houses, and displacing over 21,000 families. Over 80 percent of land in the southern Tarai region was inundated. A post-flood assessment conducted by the Government of Nepal found that 1.7 million people were affected by the disaster.

The project was implemented in close coordination with the Government of Nepal’s Flood Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project and the newly elected local governments in the targeted seven districts.

Addressing the ceremony, Ms. Yu Hong, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal said she was glad to see the project’s successful implementation and expressed commitment to continue supporting Nepal in the hours of need. “China is committed to building an environment of mutual trust and common development in consolidating ties with neighbouring countries including Nepal for the shared future of region,” she said.

“I would like to congratulate UNDP and other partners for successfully concluding the project in the stipulated time. Now there is the need to also focus on longer-term resilience building plans in these flood prone areas,” said Dr. Suman Kumar Karna, Project Chief, Flood Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project at the National Reconstruction Authority, adding that the technology introduced in the project could be replicated in other disaster response programs in Nepal and beyond.

UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in China Nicholas Rosellini said, “Natural disasters take serious toll on sustainable development efforts and there is immense need of partnerships, especially South-South Cooperation, in the context of countries like Nepal that are particularly vulnerable to climate change.”

“Working with local governments who are closer to communities was a key part of the post-flood support to affected people in Terai. The local-level partnership made it possible for us to reach out to the most affected population,” said UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Valerie Julliand.

UNDP Nepal Country Director Renaud Meyer thanked the Government of People’s Republic of China, Nepal Government counterparts, local governments and communities for their crucial support. “We wish to see this ceremony not so much as a closing but an opening of a new era of partnership with the Government of China. We look forward to working together to contribute to the building of a more resilient and prosperous Nepal," said Meyer.

Click to view press coverage