Kathmandu, April 21

One year after the earthquakes that killed over 9,000 people and led to damage and losses worth US$ 7 billion, the United Nations World Food Programme is working with the Government of Nepal so those most vulnerable to food insecurity are not left behind.

“People who were worst off before the quake are the ones who lost the most,” said Pippa Bradford, WFP representative and country director in a press statement issued today. “Ensuring that support targets these households is vitally important so that no one gets left further behind,” he added.

WFP provided food assistance to 2 million people within six weeks of the earthquake, and has been using food assistance to support early recovery work by paying people with food or cash to rebuild community infrastructure.

In the past year, irrigation systems were built or repaired on 546 hectares of agricultural land, 729 kilometres of feeder roads were repaired, and 1,714 kilometres of mountain trails were fixed.

According to the release, despite improvements in food security, due in part to humanitarian assistance, significant pockets of vulnerability remain.

A quarter of people in Nepal live on less than US$1.25 a day, and on average spend 60 per cent of their income on food, making it hard for them to cope with shocks such as disasters.