Attachments
In Numbers
2.8 million food-insecure people
1.4 million malnourished pregnant and lactating women
US$ 1.24 million, six-month (August 2020 - January 2021) net funding requirements
138,919 children reached in July 2020
Situational Updates
• Nepal’s COVID-19 tally reached 19,547 in July. The nation-wide lockdown, which was implemented on 24 March, was lifted on 21 July. Domestic and international flights remain grounded.
• The annual monsoon rains, which started in late June, intensified in July triggering widespread landsides and flooding in many parts of Nepal. The Ministry of Home Affairs reported that 163 people have lost their lives, mostly due to landslides in hilly districts, with at least another 57 missing. According to the Nepal Red Cross Society, as of 30 July 2020, 15,307 families have been affected in various districts and 7,106 families have been displaced.
Operational Updates
• In July, WFP, together with the Government, commenced distribution of 1,200 mt of take-home rations, consisting of fortified rice, lentils and vegetable oil, reaching 138,000 children and their families under the school feeding programme across seven districts.
• To prevent malnutrition, WFP started a blanket supplementary feeding programme in two provinces, in late July. This programme is part of WFP’s COVID-19 response and will initially target 20,000 beneficiaries, including children aged 6-23 months, pregnant and nursing mothers, and the elderly in isolation facilities, as well as other groups who are vulnerable to COVID-19’s adverse impacts.
• The construction of 20 food assistance-for-assets activities is ongoing in Jumla, Kalikot and Mugu.
These projects have created employment for 1,800 households for an average of 32 days benefiting 17,500 people.
• In collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs, WFP conducted an outboard motorboat operation and maintenance training in 12 flood-prone districts in July. A total of 144 participants from three security forces were trained in monsoon preparedness.
• WFP activated its forecast based anticipatory action for the monsoon floods and distributed NPR 3,150 (USD 26) of unconditional cash to 2,104 preselected vulnerable beneficiaries each, through bank transfers. The anticipatory cash assistance is expected to strengthen disaster preparedness of vulnerable communities in high-risk areas, by providing them with the means to secure essential items such as food and medicine before a disaster.