KATHMANDU: The US government on Monday announced that it

would provide a fund of $2.5 million to support Tibetan refugees in South Asia, including Nepal.

Under the ‘Overseas Refugee Assistance Programs for Near East and South Asia’, the Obama administration invited the non-government al organisations to submit their proposals to run a one-year-long project supporting the Tibetan refugees in India, Nepal, and to a lesser extent, Bhutan. Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) informed that it will consider projects submitted with budgets in the range of $150,000 to $2.5 million.

The programmes for Tibetan refugees focuses mainly on protection, including prevention and response to gender-based violence, health and nutrition, livelihoods and education,

and Water and Sanitation

sector in Nepal.

Proposals targeted solely or predominantly to the Tibetan refugee population in Nepal should not exceed $250,000, according to the department website. Proposals submitted with budgets in the range of $2.25 million to $2.5 million must include substantial support for Tibetan refugee populations in South Asia. According to a notice of the State Department, the programs will start by no later than mid-June.

“NGO proposals are encouraged to include local capacity building elements across all sector areas in Nepal. Proposals should address the needs of Tibetan refugees in urban and rural settlements. Appropriate consideration should be given to norms and conditions in surrounding Nepali communities and parity in resource distribution, so that surrounding Nepali communities are supportive of and open to the presence of the Tibetan community.”