Emergency response to critically food insecure populations in severely flood affected districts of Southern Nepal

This operation has been modified as per Budget Revision 03.

Since August 11, incessant, high intensity rainfall has led to massive floods and landslides affecting thirty five districts in Nepal. The worst impacted districts are located in the southern plain along the Indian border, known as the Terai. The Nepal Food Security Monitoring System, NeKSAP identified a population of 940,000 food insecure persons in the affected area. Emergency life-saving food security and nutrition assistance is needed for an estimated 300,000 people most severely impacted by the flood disaster. These are the poorest and most vulnerable households as identified by the poverty prevalence (NLSS, 2011) and wasting rates (DHS, 2016). Of this group, WFP aims to provide emergency cash assistance to 140,000 persons in the two worst impacted districts, upon request by the District Disaster Relief Committees (DDRC).

Affected districts, prior to flooding, were already registering very high wasting rates, up to 14.4 percent. A rapid nutrition screening undertaken by the Ministry of Health, with support from the nutrition cluster, indicates that child nutrition is already deteriorating rapidly with global acute malnutrition across 20 Terai districts assessed at 24.7 percent. Prevention and treatment of acute malnutrition is therefore key to prevent loss of and impact on children’s lives. To prevent malnutrition, WFP will provide blanket supplementary feeding to 101,500 children aged 6-59 months and 28,500 pregnant and lactating women and girls in the three worst impacted districts. In addition, targeted supplementary feeding will be provided to 11,600 children aged 6-59 months and 2,900 pregnant and lactating women and girls who are already malnourished.

To support early recovery and contribute to long term food security, the Ministry of Agriculture’s agricultural recovery plan will be supported through a food assistance for asset programme targeting 4,000 flood affected, ultra-poor households for the rehabilitation of small scale agricultural assets such as fish ponds and secondary irrigation channels.

This EMOP is launched with a view to providing further assistance to the Government of Nepal (GoN) in meeting emergency food and nutrition assistance. It builds on the successful implementation of the IR-EMOP (201098) and has a duration of 6 months. Emergency cash support will be provided for an additional 15 days following the completion of the IR-EMOP within the first month of the operation. It will cover the initial food needs of the critically food insecure in two of the worst affected districts, prior to the start of the government cash support. During the same month, blanket supplementary feeding will be provided. This will be followed by targeted supplementary feeding to children 6-59 months and PLWs already malnourished for six months. The food assistance for assets programme will provide targeted households with 20 days of work during the 6 month EMOP period.