Nepal can not find $5 billion to eliminate the consequences of the flood that claimed 1.4 thousand lives // Nepal lacks $5 billion to eliminate the consequences of the collapse of the glacier
Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah made clear in a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York that the country is in dire need of more international assistance to deal with the devastating floods that killed about 1.4 thousand people in August. Inaugurated in March, Shah, 36, who has been a popular rapper in the past, did not directly ask for money but called for responsibility-sharing.
Nepali Prime Minister Balendra Shah made clear in a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York that the country is in dire need of more international assistance to deal with the devastating floods that killed about 1.4 thousand people in August.
Inaugurated in March, Shah, 36, who has been a popular rapper in the past, did not directly ask for money but called for responsibility-sharing. “The people of our country need to focus on building our future, not constantly rebuilding the past,” he said. Nepal has also requested $20 million from the United Nations Loss and Damage Fund.
According to Nepal’s government, the country’s reconstruction needs are estimated at $4.78 billion, about 12% of the country’s GDP. Only the repair of power facilities and power grids will require $2.58 billion. At the same time, all international assistance announced since the end of August covers only a small part of this amount: the country has received only about $ 60 million, mainly in the form of humanitarian supplies and emergency funds. Experts note that taking into account all obligations, grants will cover no more than 10-15% of expenses.
Making matters worse, the disaster in Nepal coincided with a record decline in global humanitarian aid. According to the OECD, official development assistance from developed countries fell by 23.1% (nearly $50 billion), while humanitarian grants fell by 35.8% to $15.5 billion. An additional blow was the liquidation of the US agency USAID, which caused Nepal to lose funding for dozens of projects.
On August 25, a glacier collapsed on Mount Langtang-Lirung. Part of the ice collapsed in the gorge of the Lhende Khola River, which led to the closure of the channel. Due to the cascading effect, three more rivers were affected. The resulting mudflows caused destruction in six regions of Nepal and in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
Ernest Philippowski
