Countries

Overview

Nepal, with a population of approximately 27 million people, is a food-deficit country struggling to recover from an 11-year civil war. It ranks 142 out of 177 countries in the Human Development Index in 2007.

The end of the civil war in November 2006 followed by the institution of a new government in May 2008 left Nepal’s citizens hoping for changes that would improve their lives; however, many people continue to live in near crisis conditions – with continued civil unrest, limited access to food, livelihood opportunities, or basic social services.

Food insecurity is pervaisive with 41 percent of the population undernourished.

Most families survive as subsistence farmers with 24 percent of the population living on less than US$1 per day. Malnutrition rates in some communities are above emergency levels.

In some areas, chronic malnutrition rates for children under 5 are 80 percent with acute malnutrition rates as high as 23 percent.

Conflict, high food prices, chronic food insecurity, and frequent natural disasters have put millions of people on the edge of hunger and in need of immediate food assistance.

WFP Activities

WFP's response includes two Protracted Relief and Recovery Operations (PRROs) and development assistance under a Country Programme (CP). During 2008-2009, WFP plans to provide life-saving food assistance to 3.5 million vulnerable people living in 40 of Nepal’s 75 districts.  

• Food Assistance For Populations Affected by Conflict & High Food Prices - WFP is providing food assistance to 2.7 million people struggling with high food prices and impacts of conflict and natural disasters to improve their immediate food security and to enable families to invest in creating assets to rebuild their livelihoods. Internally displaced people (IDPs) and children associated with armed groups and armed forces are also receiving food assistance to ease return and reintegration into their communities.
• Food Assistance to Bhutanese Refugees - More than 102,000 refugees are receiving food rations under WFP’s current operation. WFP has been providing food assistance to Bhutanese refugees living in Nepal since 2002.
• Country Programme - WFP is creating a foundation for healthy minds and bodies by providing fortified food to vulnerable women and children through school feeding and maternal and child healthcare programmes. Incentive programmes encourages girls to attend school by providing them with take home rations of cooking oil when they maintain levels of attendance.

Food Security Monitoring
Armed with personal digital assistants (PDAs) and satellite telephones, 30 field-based staff collect and transmit real-time data on household food security, crop production, and food prices from some of the most remote areas of Nepal. Nepal’s Food Security Monitoring and Analysis (FSMAS) team in Kathmandu analyses and processes information to develop reports, maps, and early warning bulletins to ensure decision-makers have the information they need to protect lives and anticipate and respond to emergencies.  

Emergency Response Activities
WFP launched its first emergency operation in response to a natural disaster in 2006. Over the last two years, WFP has provided emergency food assistance to nearly one million people whose lives were devastated by floods and droughts.