With the cost of recovery in earthquake-ravaged Nepal estimated at $6.6 billion, preparations are underway for a donor conference this week to coordinate reconstruction and drum up support for the underfunded aid effort.
On the ground, aid partners are already pushing into recovery: clearing debris, building temporary shelters, and running cash-for-work programs in villages damaged by the April 25, 7.8-magnitude temblor and resulting aftershocks, which killed over 8,700.
But the overall relief effort is still being delayed by major customs bottlenecks. Further, rains, which broke in eastern Nepal in mid-June, are already hampering relief, triggering landslides, flash floods and cutting off remote villages.