Nepal Bags Another Foreign Aid for Local Progress

Nepal secured another fresh international aid, this time from the Federal Republic of Germany.

Germany announced a EUR 55.6 million or Rs 7.55 billion grant to Nepal as part of the two-day negotiations on development cooperation that ended in Berlin on September 20, 2018.

A substantial portion of this grant will be distributed among three key sectors of Nepal: Energy (EUR 24.55 million), Sustainable economic development (EUR 13 million) and Health (EUR 11.95 million).

By geography, the cooperation will have its special focus on rural areas of Mid and Far West Nepal, along with additional support to selected districts badly hit by the 2015 earthquake.

Health:
Mother & Child Care in the Kathmandu Valley is the major aspect that the cooperation is looking at as the biggest project with a EUR 8.3 million grant for 2018.

As part of this project, the cooperation intends to support the expansion of Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital services in Kathmandu to the surrounding areas.

Improving availability, access and quality of healthcare services, particularly in the maternal and new-born health, establishment of social health security program to support Nepal’s goal of Universal Health Coverage, are among other activities to be covered under healthcare support.

Economy:
Cooperation in the field of economic development covers creation of sustainable income and job opportunities, especially among disadvantaged groups.

According to the German Embassy in Kathmandu, all the fresh commitments will go in line with Nepal’s Development Co-operation Policy.

With the fresh grant, Germany’s financial aid to Nepal reached approximately EUR 1.2 billion since 1961.

Energy:

The cooperation stands committed to Germany’s continued support for energy efficiency with the Nepali Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation as the lead partner.