World Bank Appoints New Country Director for Nepal | Nepal Earthquake Housing Reconstruction Program Multi-Donor Trust Fund

March 8, 2016

Qimiao Fan has been appointed as the World Bank’s new Country Director for Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

Fan’s appointment was communicated to senior Government of Nepal officials including Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel by Annette Dixon, World Bank South Asia Vice President, during her visit to Kathmandu in February 2016.

A Chinese national, Fan joined the World Bank in 1991 and has held leadership positions in different countries and regions of the world. Prior to taking his current assignment, Fan served as the Country Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. From 1998 to 2002, Fan took leave from the World Bank to work in the private sector in various senior executive positions in China. After returning to the World Bank, Fan worked as a Program Leader for the Investment Climate Program in the World Bank Institute and later as the Country Manager for Cambodia.

Prior to joining the World Bank, Fan worked as a researcher in development and transition economics at the London School of Economics and as a policy researcher at Jiangxi Institute of Finance and Economics in China. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Birmingham, England. He has published widely on topics related to investment climate and problems of economies in transition.

In his current role as the World Bank Country Director for Nepal, Fan will oversee implementation of the World Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy for Nepal, including support for post-earthquake recovery. In pursuing the World Bank’s mission of eliminating poverty and promoting shared prosperity, he will also lead the policy dialogue with government counterparts, civil society and other partners.

(Source: The World Bank: Link to artilcle)

Summary Block

At A Glance:-

The private housing reconstruction process continues in the 14 most affected districts. As of June 26, 2017 28,019 houses have been rebuilt and 63,902 are under construction. The Government of Nepal has also started the distribution of first tranche in the 17 less affected districts and has agreed to provide support to landless quake survivors and people living in vulnerable settlements by developing integrated settlements

At A Glance:-

Produced by Nepal's National Reconstruction Authority, this video offers an overview of what has happened in Dolakha District since the earthquakes stroke Nepal two years ago. In the video, NRA's CEO Dr. Govind Raj Pokharel spokes with engineers working in the field and beneficiaries to learn more about lessons learned, persisting needs and ways to keep moving forward.

At A Glance:-

June 6, 2017. The Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority, Dr. Govind Raj Pokharel, made a keynote speech on ‘Early lessons from post-earthquake recovery in Nepal’ at the third edition of the World Reconstruction Conference (WRC3) hosted in Brussels.

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June 5, 2017. The UNDP continues supporting Nepal's reconstruction efforts by establishing a Human Resources Facility which aims at providing comprehensive and rapid institutional capacity strengthening support to the NRA.

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May 15, 2017. A group of 27 Engineers, hired by the UNDP for the NRA, will be applying their expertise in implementing the recently approved Corrections/Exceptions Manual, which simplifies the technical procedures without compromising on quality of construction.

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May 11, 2017. The “Surahshit Ghar” Free App allows users to access NRA’s news, information, and official messages. With audio and visual clips, the App also features the procedures to receive the grant, technical assistance and information on NRA’s safety procedures to build a house. The App also allows affected beneficiaries to send their queries on reconstruction to respective officials.

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May 7, 2017. The NRA has decided to provide 1,766 ropanis of public land to build public structures in Laprak VDC in Gorkha district. The land will be used to build a secondary school, Laprak hospital, a health post, a Gumba (monastery), a water tank, a rural municipal building and a police post.

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May 7, 2017. The NRA has directed the respective ministries to arrange and manage open spaces in the Kathmandu Valley as a precaution for future natural calamities, and has formed a working committee to study and recommend ways to preserve and manage Kathmandu’s ancient, indigenous settlements and heritage sites.

At A Glance:-

April 28, 2017. The NRA has authorized the distribution of an additional grant of NPRs 4 billion to build private houses in the earthquake-affected districts. The NRA has authorized the additional grant to the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development to meet the beneficiaries’ requirements, and keep the grant distribution running in the 14 most-affected and 17 less-affected districts.

At A Glance:-

May 22, 2017 The National Reconstruction Authority has begun the process of developing integrated settlements with the purpose of relocating five vulnerable settlements from five highly quake-affected districts.

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May 9, 2017. The NRA will provide two additional lakh to the landless quake survivors who are living in public lands or in forest areas. The Government’s cabinet has approved the NRA’s proposal under the Affected Private House Reconstruction Grant Distribution-First Amendment working procedure 2016, which has opened the door for landless quake survivors to buy land.

At A Glance:-

Two years after the devastating earthquakes that struck Nepal, the resilience of the Nepalese people is seen through the process of rebuilding the country one brick at a time. Under the leadership of the Government of Nepal and with collaboration from development partners, the housing reconstruction program continues to move forward.

At A Glance:-

March 29, 2017. The private housing reconstruction process continues at a steady pace in the 14 most affected districts. The distribution of the third tranche has began in some districts and the Government of Nepal, has also announced that the distribution of first tranche in the 17 less affected districts will start in mid April.

At A Glance:-

April 04, 2017. According to the National Reconstruction Authority, the distribution of the first tranche of the Private Housing Reconstruction Grant to the 17 less-affected districts started on April 2017, in Kaski District. Dr. Pokharel also informed that the grant distribution to the other 16 less-affected districts is expected to start by mid-April, 2017.

At A Glance:-

January 12, 2017. The Steering Committee of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) recently approved the increase of the housing reconstruction grants to NPRs.300,000 (about USD3000). The Committee also decided that NPRs.25,000 from the third installment must be mandatorily used to build toilets, install biogas plants or solar systems

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January 12, 2017. The Government of Nepal has recently appointed Dr. Govinda Raj Pokharel as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA). The new CEO assumed duties in January 2017.

At A Glance:-

The progress achieved in Nepal is in line with other similar experiences in countries such as Pakistan and Indonesia. The progress so far is encouraging. As of the end of November, more than 430,000 households have received the first of three payments to rebuild their homes under the government’s housing reconstruction program. The key now will be in pushing ahead with delivery of what the government and its development partners have promised the Nepali people.

At A Glance:-

January 31, 2017. The Earthquake Housing Reconstruction Program is advancing at steady pace. As of today, the program has completed three of the five stages of implementation: 1) Survey, 2) Identification and Validation, and 3) Enrollment. According to the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), as of January 2017, 41,311 houses have been rebuilt and 28,198 are currently under construction.

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October 28, 2016. The first meeting of the NRA’s Development Assistance Coordination and Facilitation Committee (DACFC) was held on October 28, with participation from government officials, development partners and NGOs.

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September 15, 2016. The World Bank delivered the first formal update on the activities of the Nepal Earthquake Housing Reconstruction Multi-Donor Trust Fund. The Report highlights the numerous milestones and achievements made in housing reconstruction from July 1, 2015 through July 31, 2016

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September 10, 2016. The United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) will continue supporting Nepal’s reconstruction efforts by providing a grant assistance of £71.5 million, which is approximately 10.10 billion NRPs.

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September 8, 2016. The Earthquake Housing Reconstruction Program continues to move forward on numerous fronts. Approximately 80% of eligible beneficiaries are enrolled in the program and around 76% of enrolled beneficiaries have received the 1st tranche of housing cash grant.

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July 31, 2016. This update provides an overview of the Government of Nepal's Earthquake Housing Reconstruction Program and the support that is been provided by the Nepal Earthquake Housing Multi-Donor Trust Fund during its first year of implementation.

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August 22, 2016. The Government of Nepal has deposited the first tranche of the housing grant in the bank accounts of more than 100,000 beneficiary households.

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August 22, 2016. The numbers of beneficiaries formally enrolled in the EHRP is increasing at a brisk pace. 70% of the identified beneficiaries have been enrolled in the EHRP and will receive a housing subsidy and technical support from the Program.

At A Glance:-

The Earthquake Housing Reconstruction Program conducted a pilot of the Program's enrollment process in Singati Bazaar, Dolakha District. Through this pilot, 600 households in Lamidanda and Laduk Village District Communities (VDCs) were successfully enrolled in the EHRP. The enrollment process went relatively smoothly and considered successful.

At A Glance:-

July 4, 2016. The first stage of the Nepal's Housing Reconstruction Program has been completed. A total of 717,343 housing structures were surveyed; and of these, approximately 533,300 households were identified as qualifying as beneficiaries for the Program’s housing subsidy

At A Glance:-

April 25, 2016. Since the earthquakes of 2015, the U.S. Government through USAID has continued its long-term recovery efforts in housing and infrastructure; livelihoods and food security; health, water and sanitation; good governance; and the prevention and protection of vulnerable populations against gender-based violence and trafficking in persons.

At A Glance:-

April 25, 2016. The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, today marked the first anniversary of last year’s devastating earthquakes in Nepal. Between April 25 and May 25, 2015, Canadians donated a total of $51.7 million to eligible organizations.

At A Glance:-

April 25, 2016. On the one-year anniversary of the major earthquakes of April and May 2015, Nepal and the international community reflected on these life-changing events. The country has endured a difficult year and much has been put in place to build back a more resilient Nepal. Since day one, the Government of Nepal has worked with development partners, international relief organizations, local and international NGOs, charities and ordinary people to support the extended relief effort. Today, these efforts are lead by the National Reconstruction Authority who continues coordinating the work between various government and non-government organizations, as well as Nepal’s international development partners. With resilience and determination, Nepal Rebuilds!

At A Glance:-

June 23, 2015 - The World Bank Group will always stand with the people of Nepal, especially in their time of need. The World Bank is helping the country face its next challenge — moving beyond the emergency to start building back better. Subject to board approval, the WBG will provide $200 million to rebuild homes and $100 million in budget support to strengthen the financial sector.

At A Glance:-

In 2015, two major earthquakes struck Nepal. In a matter of seconds, nearly 9,000 people lost their lives and over 22,000 people were injured. According to the Government of Nepal, the earthquake sequence destroyed approximately 490,000 houses, and rendered another 265,000 houses uninhabitable. The disaster's impact on poverty and livelihood has been severe, as the poorest and the most vulnerable communities were the hardest hit.

At A Glance:-

With over 600 million people living along the fault-line across the Himalayan belt, South Asia’s earthquake exposure is very high. Over a one-year period from May 2013 to May 2014, there were a total of 1,247 recorded earthquake events of 4.0 magnitude or higher. It's time to prepare and to rebuild with more resilience.

At A Glance:-

Lalman Tamang lost his wife and his house when the earthquake hit. He owes his life to the beams that sheltered him from the crumbling stones and now lives in a makeshift shelter made up of salvaged timber and rubble materials. As part of the government’s reconstruction program, Lalaman is eligible to receive NRP 200,000 (Nepalese Rupees) to rebuild his house and his life. Video - Courtesy of the World Bank.

At A Glance:-

June 30, 2016. In spite of difficult challenges, the housing reconstruction effort has moved forward and reached important milestones in the past year since the earthquake events. Under the leadership of the Government, Nepal is taking steps in the right direction to carry out a successful housing recovery process.

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December 25, 2015. The Government of Nepal appointed Sushil Gyawali as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority.

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July 30, 2015. The international community has been working together to assist the Government of Nepal with relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts.

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March 13, 2016. Eleven months after the devastating earthquake, the National Reconstruction Authority is signing participation agreements with displaced families for housing reconstruction grants as part of its final preparations to distribute the government-announced cash to the homeless.

At A Glance:-

March 8, 2016, Kathmandu. Qimiao Fan has been recently appointed as the World Bank’s new Country Director for Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Mr. Fan will oversee implementation of the World Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy for Nepal, including support for post-earthquake recovery.