MULTI-SECTORAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT NEPAL EARTHQUAKE 2015 6 – 15 MAY 2015 RedR-India is part of the RedR International network, a humanitarian, non-profit organization, which maintains a register of experienced humanitarian professionals who are available to assist governments and external support agencies that work in the humanitarian sector. In addition to its primary task as a recruiter of humanitarian personnel, the RedRs have a global reputation for the development and presentation of high quality training and technical support services for the humanitarian aid sector. RedR has offices in India, UK, Sri Lanka, Australia, Malaysia, and New Zealand. For more details on RedR-India please do visit www.redr.org.in Mission: A world in which sufficient competent and committed personnel are available and responding to humanitarian needs. RedR India GOKUL House No. 1, Sur. No. 79, Plot No. 37+44, Pooja Park, Kothrud, Pune – 411 038 India Photo Credit: RedR India CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. 4 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................... 7 CHRISTIAN AID’S RESPONSE TO THE EMERGENCY ....................................................................................... 9 THE ASSESSMENT ........................................................................................................................................ 12 Objectives of the assessment ............................................................................................................. 12 VDCS visited for assessment ............................................................................................................... 13 Assessment Methodology ................................................................................................................... 13 SECTOR-SPECIFIC FINDINGS, OBSERVATIONS, INFERENCES AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................... 14 Shelter and Non Food Items ............................................................................................................... 14 Food Security ...................................................................................................................................... 19 Livelihoods .......................................................................................................................................... 22 WASH .................................................................................................................................................. 27 Health .................................................................................................................................................. 29 Protection ........................................................................................................................................... 31 Nutrition .............................................................................................................................................. 32 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Upon request from Christian Aid, RedR India deployed an assessment team to capture critical qualitative and quantitative data along with information in order to validate CA’s ongoing emergency response to the earthquake in Nepal in the first month (May 2015) of the disaster, and also inform decision making process for CA’s proposed response in the coming two months. The assessment team visited earthquake-affected areas in Sindhupalchok, Nuwakot, Dhading and Gorkha districts of Nepal. Majority of the affected remote villages, more popularly known as Village Development Committees (VDCs) in the upper reaches were still inaccessible for assessment. The team also met key district level officials and collected secondary information from other sources to gain an understanding on the critical unmet needs and current response plans. FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS The exact magnitude of damage is yet to be ascertained as most remote VDCs remain inaccessible due to damage to roads. People without food Supply of relief materials is not adequate to meet the emerging needs of the affected people. Several VDCs, particularly those which still continue to remain cut off, have not received any relief materials as reaching them is a challenge. Short supply of food appropriate for infants, may emerge as matter of major concern in the coming weeks. Loss of livelihoods The main occupation of the people belonging to the affected areas is agriculture. While there has not been any substantial crop loss, barring some instances where crops were destroyed following landslides induced by the earthquake, there is a concern over delayed rains resulting in less than average normal yield. WASH Water Supply Water supply does not appear to be a major issue presently. Mostly people were provided with water from traditional sources like springs. While the piped supply system in some places has been damaged or has been destroyed by the earthquake, people have repaired the supply pipelines themselves and have access to sufficient quantity of water. Alternate sources of supply are also available. While quantity of water is not appearing to be an issue, quality is questionable in some locations. Sanitation Traditionally people have been using toilets for defecation. Now with toilets being destroyed or becoming non-functional in some areas, people are resorting to open defecation. Toilets that are undamaged and functional are being shared by people. There is a need for latrines in these VDCs. Lack of toilets is posing a huge problem for women. There is a possibility of occurrence of water-borne diseases, as the water supply pipelines are broken in some areas. Hygiene Practices It was observed that very few households had separate covered drinking water containers with lids and taps. However, people in most VDCs do not have sufficient water storage containers. No significant cases of diarrhoea or dysentery have been reported. Shelter and NFIs The affected people are forced to move away from their homes/regular shelters as majority of the houses have been either partially or fully damaged. Large populations are without a roof or living under tarpaulin sheets. People were caught unaware by the earthquake and ended up losing most of their belongings under the rubble and debris. Many affected people still do not have necessary household items. Distribution of non-food items is yet to start in the most affected areas. Health Health facilities have collapsed in almost all the districts where the assessment was conducted. Resumption of services through rehabilitation of these facilities and providing outreach services is of utmost priority. There are agencies which have set up medical camps and they are doing their best to serve those in need. Support and gap areas The NGOs and government have started assessing the damage, supplying relief and providing other assistance in the form of dry food rations including rice, oil, sugar, maize etc. at a few places. Looking at the intensity of the devastation, it can be said that the supply of relief has been late and inadequate. There have been sporadic examples of preferential politics in play as far as distribution of relief items is concerned. However, these could not be substantiated. Relief action from Government The Government of Nepal carried out search and rescue of survivors during the initial days. The Government has now discontinued it as there is little hope of finding more survivors under the debris. Since schools are closed until the end of May, the buildings are used as relief centres for affected people in some places. The government has mobilized helicopters for distributing relief items and is supplying food, cash and other items (in variable quantities) at accessible VDCs. It is also in the process of declaring compensation for the dead, and for houses that have been damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. INFERENCES AND RECOMMENDATIONS Though the government has started responding, it has limited resources to respond quickly. It apparently needs external support to deal with the overwhelming disaster. The Government has been focusing on short term needs and have not come out with a longer or medium term response plan. As and when access to the remote VDCs is regained, it is recommended that a detailed shelter, WASH and food security assessment is conducted to identify critically unmet and emerging needs. In the current situation, recommendations for Christian Aid are: 1. It is beyond the capacity of the affected people to cope with the negative impact of the earthquake. The assessment team concludes an urgent need to respond to this humanitarian emergency, and thus validates CA’s ongoing response. 2. The need for immediate relief is crucial and must be undertaken at a greater speed and scale. Emergency Food Security, Shelter, WASH, and Emergency Livelihood support (in this order) should be the sectors of major focus. The situation in self-settled emergency shelters will worsen if food security is not ensured at the earliest. Immediate support must reach the worst affected people. A significant portion of the affected population still remains cut off in the remote areas with food being air-dropped for some. 3. A large-scale shelter rehabilitation and reconstruction intervention will be required once the emergency phase is over. For more details on the sector-specific recommendations,