How we work

The MDTF co-finances the World Bank's Earthquake Housing Reconstruction Project (EHRP) . The World’s Bank EHRP, provides multi-faceted support to the Earthquake Housing Reconstruction Program led by the Government of Nepal (GoN). In addition to financing a housing subsidy for approximately 240,000 beneficiaries, the World Bank financed EHRP supports the provision of socio-technical assistance to all beneficiaries in 32 earthquake affected districts. In addition, World Bank also provides advisory and coordinating support to Government of Nepal's overall housing reconstruction project. 

The Multi-Donor Trust Fund together with Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) provided the operational support to Household Registration Program of Government of Nepal, which paved the way for implementation of overall housing reconstruction program. 

The design of the Nepal Earthquake Housing Reconstruction Program is based upon key principles derived from broad international experiences and best practices of other housing reconstruction programs. The key pillars, upon which the program is built, include the following:

Owner-Driven Construction
The program equips homeowners with multi-faceted support to direct the reconstruction of their home. The program is providing: information on resilient housing designs, socio-technical assistance, training, market facilitation and cash-based subsidies, among other forms of assistance.

Equity
All beneficiaries receive the same subsidy amount of NPR 300,000 (about $3,000) to rebuild their home. This cash assistance is being provided in three tranches, to ensure that earthquake-safer techniques are used in alignment with the government’s national building code (NBC).

Safer Construction
The affected houses are being rebuilt in a more resilient manner in order to withstand future disaster events. Key components of the program include technical assistance on resilient designs for housing, recommendations on appropriate local materials and the training of engineers, masons, and homeowners regarding resilient techniques, practices, and earthquake-safer materials. Whereas first installment of housing grant is released upon signing of participation agreement by the eligible beneficiary, the second and third tranches are contingent upon satisfactory compliance to reconstruction guidelines approved by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA). The designated field engineers inspect the houses at different stages of reconstruction, i.e. at plinth level, at roof-band level and after completion of house. 

Transparency & Accountability
The program includes many features to ensure that the principles of transparency and accountability are respected. A streamlined funds flow with digital record-keeping and direct payment of housing subsidy into the beneficiaries’ designated bank accounts has established a culture of accountability and transparency in the program. The program also developed a strong internal control system with several checks and balances being ensured at different level. They include third-party monitoring and evaluation of transparency, the fairness of the program, and beneficiary satisfaction. The program also includes a robust multi-tiered grievance redressal mechanism to register and address complaints by beneficiaries. In addition, the Management Information System (MIS) has been designed and launched to monitor the program’s physical and financial progress and to ensure fundamentals of transparency and accountability in the process.