EU - Nepal Partnership

Young students in Nepal. Education is one of the funding priorities in the European Union's 2014-2020 multiannual indicative program for the Asian country. Photo by: NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati / Global Partnership for Education / CC BY-NC-ND Nepal had been on a steady path toward moving up to middle-income status. It had made significant strides in alleviating poverty and improving rural development and its health and education sectors. But it needed to scale up its development efforts and address other socio-economic bottlenecks. In its 13th development plan, covering the period 2013-2016, the government of Nepal laid out its strategy toward attaining middle-income status by 2020. The main goal of this blueprint is to reduce the percentage of the population below the poverty line from 23.8 percent in 2012-13 to 18 percent by the end of 2016. But the April 25 and May 12 earthquakes, which killed thousands of people and destroyed hundreds of houses and infrastructure, set back development progress at the South Asian country. This disaster prompted the government to reallocate resources meant to help the country “graduate” from its least-developed status toward recovery and rehabilitation efforts. A longtime development partner of Nepal, the European Union had — in its multiannual indicative program covering the period 2014-2020 — allocated 360 million euros ($393 million) to help address challenges in three priority areas: sustainable rural development, education, and democracy and decentralization. But following the devastating earthquakes, the European Commission provided 12 million euros to address the basic needs in the most-affected areas. It also deployed humanitarian aid and civil protection experts to support the emergency response. Further, the EU advanced 16.6 million euros in budget support from Nepal’s 2007-2013 development program under the Development Cooperation Instrument. And at a donor pledging conference held June 25, the 28-member bloc promised 100 million euros in budget support, mainly to help in the reconstruction efforts. Funding levels and priorities The EU is among the biggest providers of development aid to Nepal, focusing support on efforts toward democratization, human rights, rule of law, and domestic accountability of state and nonstate actors. The 360 million euros allocated for the period 2014-2020 is triple the resources laid out in the previous multiannual indicative program. Of the total resource allocation for this period, 40.5 percent is directed to sustainable rural development, 38 percent to education, 20.5 percent to democracy and decentralization efforts, and 1 percent to support measures. Sustainable rural development: Eighty-three percent of Nepal’s population resides in rural areas where the poverty rate is higher (27 percent compared with urban areas’ 15 percent) and where the majority is employed in agriculture. The European Union aims to transform Nepal’s agriculture sector from one that is subsistent to one that is competitive, sustainable and inclusive. Specific objectives under this area are: ● Profitable agricultural commercialization with improved connectivity and market infrastructure.● Efficient and sustainable agriculture sector guaranteeing food security in rural areas.● Improved maternal, infant and child nutrition in rural areas.● Strengthen response, preparedness and recovery capacities of communities exposed and vulnerable to recurrent and predictable disasters.● Maximize the development impact of migration and minimize its negative consequences in the rural areas. Education: Education is critical to sustain Nepal’s development. But school attendance has always been unequal across gender and income groups, and learning outcomes for many children are still unacceptably low. The European Union is working to contribute to equitable access and completion of quality school education for girls and boys and the provision of literacy and livelihood opportunities for adults, boosting individual, family and wider social and economic development. Specifically, the EU aims to: ● Increase access to and completion of education.● Reduce inequalities in education.● Improve the quality of education.● Expand access to literacy.● Provide a safer educational environment.● Strengthen the vocational training system. Strengthen democracy and decentralization: Compared with other South Asian countries, Nepal witnessed higher political instability which negatively affected the efficiency and effectiveness of its public institutions. The EU, with its track record in supporting good governance and accountability of countries in transition, will support Nepal in efforts to deepen democracy and promote human rights and rule of law. The specific objectives under this priority area are: ● Support democratization, domestic accountability and human rights through electoral assistance but also through capacity building of democratic legislative bodies, justice institutions and other key institutions.● Support Nepal’s decentralization and state restructuring in the context of a new federal state to ensure quality service delivery to citizens at the local level.● Improve effectiveness, efficiency, transparency and accountability of public finance management, and reduce corruption at the national and local levels. Support measures: A small portion of the total budget for the period will be used to cover the conduct of feasibility studies, consultation, planning workshops, outreach, audits, evaluations and other activities needed to implement the multiannual program. Devex analysis Limited government capacity, political instability and corruption are among the major risks in implementing the EU’s 2014-2020 multiannual program. The EU hopes to mitigate these risks by conducting frequent dialogues with the government on the need to increase transparency and accountability, and providing technical assistance to build the capacity of public institutions. At the same time, it will coordinate with other development partners to ensure that all donor efforts are harmonized. The EU currently leads efforts on addressing public financial management issues and elections, and is participating in rural development and nutrition and education programs. Nepal is vulnerable to natural disasters as well. The country is among the 10 most earthquake-prone countries in the world. It also experiences annual monsoon rains, which have caused flooding and landslides. As such, the EU is mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in its activities in the South Asian country, and has been helping vulnerable communities prepare for natural disasters. Contact Delegation of the European Union to Nepal Tel: (977-1) 442-9445, 442-9446, 442-3569, 442-0406 Fax: (977-1) 442-3541 Email: