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Friends In Need International agencies are supporting Nepal showing that they are the friends in need
By KESHAB POUDEL
The World Bank selected local groups including the community organizations to bring the changes in the country through Nepal Development Marketplace 2005. From a small community user group of Shesh Narayan VDC of Kathmandu to agriculture offices of Panchtar, the World Bank recognized their efforts and awarded them with cash prize to implement their innovative ideas.
There were twenty winners for the NDM. Each of the winners will receive a grant award up to Rs 1.4 million to implement their innovative ideas.
After the suspension of some development aid on governance project, the British Aid Agency DFID agreed to provide more than 5 billion rupees to support Nepal’s development programs.
Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General professor Walter Kalin who recently visited Nepal’s countryside to asses the situation of Internally Displaced Population in Nepal, vowed to request for the UN assistance to them. Not only have the bilateral donors, various agencies of the United Nations been supporting Nepal’s effort to improve the economic and social condition of Nepalese people.
In a recent conference in Turkey’s capital Istanbul, Nepalese finance minister Madhukar SJB Rana urged Asian Development Bank to support programs for internally displaced population as well as to intensify community-level development projects. According to the sources close to finance minister, ADB is said to be positively considering Nepal’s request.
When some of Nepal’s bilateral donors are showing the reluctance to support Nepal’s poor people, there are many other agencies including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and International Non-governmental Organizations making efforts to help Nepal.
With the Royal action of February 1, Nepal’s bilateral development partners have shown reluctance even to support the program directed to the poor people of Nepal. International multilateral agencies including the UN agencies and International non-governmental organizations, however, supported Nepal showing that they are the friends in Nepal for Nepalese people.
Professor Kalin not only visited the conflict prone zone of mid-western region but also recommended the government, the UN and other international community in Nepal to develop a comprehensive strategy and create a framework to respond the human rights and humanitarian needs of IDPs, including prevention of displacement, during displacement and with regard to finding long-term solutions on behalf of displaced persons.
Along with the support of bilateral donors, the support given by multilateral agencies, civil society-based INGOs have supported helping Nepal to meet the challenges of development.
“Thanks to efforts of all concerned international agencies, we are able to bring drastic change in the poverty reduction,” said Dr. Shankar Sharma, vice chairman of National Planning Commission (NPC). "The recent indication of reduction of number of poverty is a result of efforts of all concerned agencies.”
From raising awareness about Nepal’s internal problems to supporting Nepal’s effort to build the institutions and infrastructures, Nepal’s multilateral agencies have already spent billions of rupees. From immunization campaign to literacy drive and community forest management, Nepal’s multilateral donors are coming up at the time of need.
In many rural parts of the country, the civil society-based INGOs have been working to improve the living condition of poor people. The INGOs like United Missions to Nepal, ICIMOD, CARE-Nepal, Save the Children Norway, and WWF are few examples. Their contribution towards Nepal’s development program is immense.
“The World Bank will continue to support Nepal to alleviate poverty,” said Praful Patel, vice president of the World Bank for South Asia– which is one of the leading agencies supporting Nepal to alleviate the poverty. Our budgetary support will depend on further reforms, he said during his recent visit to Nepal.
In the recent crisis, the UN agencies, multilateral banks and civil society based international organizations have shown that they are real friends in need. They can do a lot of support to Nepal along with the bilateral donors to reduce the poverty in Nepal.
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