In the early 1990s, refugees began entering Nepal from Bhutan following the enforcement of increasingly restrictive citizenship laws against Bhutanese of Nepali origin. More than 80,000 refugees left Bhutan and sought asylum in Nepal by early 1992. Conditions in the makeshift camps were grim. Many refugees died and hundreds suffered from malnutrition and other diseases. In 1992, WFP began providing food assistance to the Bhutanese refugees based upon a request from the Government of Nepal. Currently, WFP provides food assistance to 102,000 Bhutanese refugees across seven camps in eastern Nepal.
The Bhutanese refugees are not allowed to work or to own land making them dependant on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs for food, shelter, education, and healthcare. WFP provides a complete ration of 2,100 kilocalories per person per day via bimonthly food distributions. To help protect the nutritional status of vulnerable refugees like the elderly, pregnant women and young children, WFP provides supplementary fortified food rations. In 2007, WFP with UNCHR began distributing micronutrient packets to children under 5 in order to reduce the incidence of anaemia in refugee children.
Aside from general food assistance, WFP also supports vocational training and micro-credit loan schemes to promote self-reliance among refugees and vulnerable adults in the surrounding host communities.
After multiple rounds of talks with the Government of Bhutan failed to produce a resolution to the refugee issue, the Government of Nepal agreed to third-country resettlement as one option for the refugees. Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and the United States have offered to resettle the entire refugee population. More than 50,000 refugees have applied for third-country resettlement; however, it will take years before applicants are processed and for a complete resolution for the Bhutanese refugee situation to materialize. Food assistance will be needed over the next few years to support the refugees who continue to live in the refugee camps.
