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Nepal

District profile: Dolakha, 19 August 2015

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KEY FIGURES

280,874 total population
87% houses fully or partially damaged
50,284 houses fully damaged
305 houses partially damaged
2,037 people in nine sites hosting >20 HH

KEY ISSUES

  • Dolakha was the epicentre of the 12 May earthquake. While the 25 April earthquake caused widespread damage to the area, the second earthquake led to more severe damages and casualties in Dolakha and other eastern districts.

  • Access has been the primary constraint to the delivery of and access to assistance in hard-toreach northern VDCs. This has affected nearly all sectoral response, particularly since the onset of monsoon season which has led to an increase in impassible roads and a backlog in air transport.

  • The number of households (HHs) qualifying for aid distributions increased as affected HHs (traditionally made up of extended families) separated into nuclear families in order to maximise the amount of aid received. This has led to a shortage of assistance. VDC authorities and communities have called for blanket aid coverage, however this has left some VDCs with no assistance, as additional resources were not available to cover the gap.

  • Humanitarian actors have prioritised emergency assistance in light of the onset of monsoon season; now planning for recovery and winterisation is required as the vast majority of Dolakha’s popuation reside in areas with mean January temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius. Authorities have requested that humanitarian partners support with permanent, rather than temporary or semi-permanent, structures – for housing, temporary learning centres (TLCs), as well as health facilities.

  • While Dolakha’s public and private schools experienced the third highest levels of damage among the 14 priority district, humanitarian agencies had nearly met targets to establish TLCs across the district by the end of July. The main gap is in the provision of TLCs in hard-to-reach areas due to access challenges.

  • Pre-earthquake data indicates that specific sectors with a lack of assessment data should be prioritised. An understanding of access to emergency cards and assistance, particularly for Dolakha’s margainalised groups which are concentrated in hard-to-reach areas, is required. Humanitarian actors should strengthen information collection and sharing on protection issues. High pre-earthquake rates of child labour in Dolakha make children and women particuarly vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.

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