European partners pay tribute to the victims and stand by Nepal to accelerate building back better reconstruction for the most vulnerable.

On this day of the 12 Baishakh, one year after the first major earthquake hit Nepal at 11:56 am local time on 25 April, the European partners join the country to commemorate and honor the victims and their families.

This was one of the most daunting natural catastrophes ever in Nepal's history. As part of a larger response, European Partners, including the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland and France have collectively pledged 39.3 billion Nepali Rupees (approx. EUR 328.75 million) for the relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts. This tangible sign of solidarity was made during the International Conference on Nepal's Reconstruction (ICNR) in June 2015.

“The people of Nepal, who have shown admirable resilience in the face of adversity, aspire to build back better the devastated areas. Over 500,000 families have lost their homes, which poses enormous daily hardships. More than 35,000 classrooms were destroyed and more than 1,000,000 children need new and safe learning spaces as soon as possible. Cultural heritage sites took a heavy toll too, as well as the productive and infrastructure sectors. All these challenges and difficulties need to be turned around into opportunities for a better future,” said a press release issued by Delegation of the European Union to Nepal.

The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has been established and it is important that this body has the means to fully embrace its role. The European Partners will support a pivotal role of a strong NRA and we are committed to firmly stand by Nepal as a friend in times of need and to contribute to the reconstruction process.

About the European Partners Recovery and Reconstruction Contribution to Nepal

The European Union has allocated 12.66 billion Nepali rupees (EUR 105 million) to support the Government directly through budget support in implementing recovery and reconstruction efforts, with strong focus on the promotion of resilience and disaster preparedness, the most vulnerable people as well as the principles of transparency and accountability in public finance management.

An additional amount of 2.30 billion Nepali Rupees (EUR 19 million) complements the reconstruction efforts with EU funded actions dedicated to relief, early recovery and humanitarian operations, including the provision of 650 Transitional Learning Centres.

The United Kingdom has allocated 10.6 billion Nepali rupees (EUR 89/£70 million) in response to the 2015 earthquakes. 5.3 billion Nepali Rupees/ £35m were disbursed for immediate needs, providing life-saving humanitarian assistance, restoring health services in the earthquake affected areas, re-establishing police support and financial services, and protecting livelihoods. This has included providing 250,000 people with live-saving shelter, 200,000 people with cold weather support, 100,000 people with immediate cash transfers, and supporting 125,000 women and girls with protection services and essential items.

Additional support will be provided for the medium term recovery and reconstruction of Nepal with actions on the re-establishment of health services and the reconstruction of pathways, bridges and police stations; helping remote communities access the finances needed to rebuild their homes; training people in construction skills; and increasing electricity access in earthquake affected regions through the introduction of solar power. These longer term commitments mean the UK is maintaining the flexibility to respond to reconstruction needs as they develop, so the UK can help Nepal rebuild in the best possible way.

Germany has allocated 3.6 billion Nepali rupees (EUR 30 million) for transition and recovery. The programmes, that are implemented by GIZ and KfW in partnership with national authorities, cover areas like shelter, health, energy, education and livelihood-related activities. The beneficiary districts targeted under this action are Dhading, Nuwakot, Gorkha, Dolakha, Rasuwa, Ramecchap and Bhatktapur. A special focus will lie on the support for the rehabilitation of public infrastructure (important heritages sites, schools etc.) in Bhaktapur.

In addition, private donations from Germany reached the amount of 13.9 billion Nepali Rupees (EUR 116 million). Norway has contributed with around 3.6 billion Nepali rupees (EUR 30 million) for humanitarian aid and reconstruction. The humanitarian support was mainly directed to shelter, protection, health, livelihood, food security and education. In addition, support has been provided for reconstruction and retrofitting of schools and temporary reconstruction of Village Development Committees Offices.

Switzerland has allocated a total of 3.15 billion Nepali rupees (EUR 27.2/CHF 30 million) to postearthquake relief, recovery and reconstruction. Immediately after the earthquake Switzerland deployed more than 70 humanitarian aid experts to provide assistance in health, shelter, WASH and logistics in the amount of 525 million Nepali rupees (CHF 5 million).

For the recovery and reconstruction phase, Switzerland has pledged 2,625 million Nepali rupees (CHF 25 million), out of which 2,310 million (CHF 22 million) have already been committed through new interventions and through reorienting existing projects and programmes to the affected districts. Swiss support is focused on the areas of transport infrastructure, skills for reconstruction, rural housing, and heritage rehabilitation.

Sweden has contributed approximately 1.27 billion Nepali Rupees (EUR 10.6 million) to the humanitarian work after the earthquake through the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB).

The expertise was mainly related to coordination, information technology, logistics, and health aspects. A significant part of the support was also in response to the UN Flash Appeal, in areas such as water, sanitation and psychosocial support, but also support to children's education and protection.

The Netherlands contributed 1.2 billion Nepali rupees (EUR 10 million) for humanitarian aid in the context of emergency relief and reconstruction needs.

Denmark’s contribution of around 540 million Nepali rupees (EUR 4.5 million) focused on responding to humanitarian needs in the post-earthquake context, including projects on early recovery such as livelihoods stabilisation and enterprise recovery in earthquake affected areas.

Additional support has been provided in collaboration with UN Women and with Danish NGOs who supported humanitarian and early recovery actions, including the re-establishment of schools and conducting assessments on the quality of water systems.

Finland has allocated 250 million Nepali rupees (EUR 2 million) for reconstruction efforts mainly in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and education sectors.

France directed its support to cover humanitarian needs, including projects on food security through non-governmental organisations, as well as reconstruction projects such as the Nava Prativa Secondary School and debris removal for an estimated total amount of 174 million Nepali rupees (EUR 1.45 million).