Nepal: Earthquake One-Year Progress Report
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Nepal: Earthquake One-year progress report Nepal Red Cross Society The Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Humanity The International Red Cross and Red Cres- Independence The Movement is independent. The cent Movement, born of a desire to bring assistance National Societies, while auxiliaries in the humani- without discrimination to the wounded on the battle- tarian services of their governments and subject to field, endeavours, in its international and national the laws of their respective countries, must always capacity, to prevent and alleviate human suffering maintain their autonomy so that they may be able at wherever it may be found. Its purpose is to protect all times to act in accordance with the principles of life and health and to ensure respect for the human the Movement. being. It promotes mutual understanding, friendship, cooperation and lasting peace amongst all peoples. Voluntary service It is a voluntary relief movement not prompted in any manner by desire for gain. Impartiality It makes no discrimination as to nation- ality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions. Unity There can be only one Red Cross or Red Cres- It endeavours to relieve the suffering of individuals, cent Society in any one country. It must be open to being guided solely by their needs, and to give prior- all. It must carry on its humanitarian work through- ity to the most urgent cases of distress. out its territory. Neutrality In order to enjoy the confidence of all, the Universality The International Red Cross and Red Movement may not take sides in hostilities or engage Crescent Movement, in which all societies have equal at any time in controversies of a political, racial, reli- status and share equal responsibilities and duties in gious or ideological nature. helping each other, is worldwide. © International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva, 2016 Any part of this publication may be cited, copied, translated into other languages or adapted to meet local needs without prior permission from the P.O. Box 303 International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent CH-1211 Geneva 19 Societies, provided that the source is clearly stated. Switzerland Telephone: +41 22 730 4222 Requests for commercial reproduction should be Telefax: +41 22 733 0395 directed to the IFRC Secretariat at [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Follow us: Web site: www.ifrc.org All photos used in this study are copyright of the IFRC unless otherwise indicated. Nepal Earthquake: One-year progress report International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Nepal: Earthquake One-year progress report Table of contents A year of Red Cross milestones 2 Foreword 3 A note on reading this report 5 Operational overview 6 The emergency phase 8 The recovery phase 11 Safer lives 12 Restoring incomes 13 Wellness for all 14 Preparing for future disasters 15 Programmatic analysis 17 Financial overview 19 Annex 1. Programmatic notes 22 Annex 2. Financial notes 25 Annex 3. Global Red Cross and Red Crescent support 29 1 International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Nepal: Earthquake One-year progress report A year of Red Cross milestones 2 International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Nepal: Earthquake One-year progress report Foreword Preparation, volunteerism and partnerships were es- The Nepal Red Cross was not spared. One staff mem- sential to the International Red Cross and Red Cres- ber and two volunteers lost their lives while engaged cent Movement’s response to the Nepal earthquake. in mobile blood collection. We honour their dedica- Years of disaster preparation by the Nepal Red Cross tion and keep their families in our thoughts. A total of Society resulted in rapid and effective assistance to 24 National Society buildings were destroyed or badly people suffering hardship, emotional distress and damaged. disruption to every facet of their lives. This Movement-wide report documents a milestone Over the past 12 months, close to 8,000 local volun- in our collective effort to support the Nepal Red Cross’ teers have made an invaluable contribution to the overall emergency and recovery operation for people delivery and effectiveness of emergency aid and re- affected by the 2015 Nepal earthquake. covery initiatives. Under the leadership of the Nepal Red Cross, Move- No fewer than 51 National Red Cross and Red Cres- ment partners have come together and delivered a co- cent Societies supported the earthquake operation ordinated response. This support will continue as Red with funds and 26 were present in Nepal during the Cross volunteers and staff work to help stricken com- first three months of the operation. We acknowledge munities to recover from this disaster and strengthen the solidarity, support and expertise of Movement Nepal’s capacity to withstand future threats. partners that enabled us to swiftly help those in need. Dev Ratna Dhakhwa Xavier Castellanos Boris Michel Secretary General Director Regional Director Nepal Red Cross Society IFRC Asia Pacific zone office ICRC East and South-East Kathmandu Kuala Lumpur Asia and the Pacific Region Geneva 3 International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Nepal: Earthquake One-year progress report 4 International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Nepal: Earthquake One-year progress report A note on reading this report This report focuses on the outcomes of the collective efforts of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, in response to the Nepal earthquake of 25 April 2015 and its aftershocks. Consolidated programmatic and financial information has been provided by the Ne- pal Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cross Societies (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and partner National Societies. Programme indicators report against progress and achievements from 25 April 2015 to 15 March 2016, while financial data relates to the period from 25 April 2015 to 31 January 2016. The programmatic indicators illustrate key activities carried out in different sectors. The information is grouped according to (i) the emergency phase (25 April 2015 to 31 August 2015), and (ii) the recovery phase (1 September 2015 to 15 March 2016). In reality, the line between the two phases is blurred as many activities before and after contain elements of both relief and recovery. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) refers to the IFRC secretariat and all member National Societies collectively. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) refers to ICRC’s headquarters in Geneva and delegations around the world. Red Cross Red Crescent Movement re- fers to ICRC in addition to the IFRC secretariat and member National Societies. 5 International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Nepal: Earthquake One-year progress report Operational overview Financial overview Total Total Red Cross Red Crescent income as of 31 January 2016 277.5 million Swiss francs Total Red Cross Red Crescent expenditure as of 31 January 2016 70.2 million Swiss francs The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal just before midday on 25 April 2015 devastated lives and communities and set back the development of the country. Nepal government statistics paint a graphic picture: 8,856 people killed, 22,309 in- jured, more than 1.1 million families affected and 700,000 families displaced. Almost 600,000 homes were destroyed and a further 280,000 damaged. More than 30,000 classrooms were destroyed or damaged. The Nepal Red Cross Society response to the earthquake was immediate. Thousands of volunteers gave first aid and searched damaged buildings for survivors. As a trust- ed partner of the Nepal government, the Nepal Red Cross quickly activated its emer- gency operations centre. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement came together to support the Nepal Red Cross. For four months the focus was largely the provision of food, emergency shelter, healthcare and medical services, access to safe water, improved sanitation and essential household items. Priority was given to people who lost family, those with destroyed houses, families with ill or injured members, pregnant or breast-feeding women, children, people aged over 65, the disabled, women-headed families, single women and people in need of urgent support in the most remote areas. Challenging context Mounting such a huge operation anywhere would be difficult. Nepal offers particular challenges. The population has nearly doubled since 1980 to reach 27 million today, but infrastructure and critical public sector services have struggled to keep up. A social system of castes and ethnic groups add complexity. Almost all the districts hit hardest by the earthquake are hard to reach in winter or during the monsoon rain. 6 International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Nepal: Earthquake One-year progress report Local government elections have been on hold since 1998 due to a decade of conflict between government and Maoist forces that ended in 2006. Elections are expected in 2016 or 2017. Many local government posts are vacant. Protests about a new constitu- tion effectively closed the border with India from September 2015. Imports of fuel and other essentials all but stopped for five months. Delays in creating a National Recon- struction Authority added uncertainty. Despite these and other challenges, from September 2015 the Movement steadily moved its emphasis from emergency to recovery efforts. Coordination The Nepal Red Cross has designated responsibilities in disaster preparedness and re- sponse in the government’s contingency plans at national and district levels. The larg- est humanitarian organization in Nepal, it has national coverage. “No one can forget the immediate rescue, relief and other support activities provided by the Nepal Red Cross for people affected by the earthquakes of 25 April and 12 May 2015,” said Nepal’s Prime Minister, the Right Honorable Mr KP Oli, as the one year an- niversary approached.