Lord Pearson of Rannoch – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Pearson of Rannoch on 2016-01-13.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of (1) the present situation in Nepal, especially in outlying villages that cannot be reached by road, and (2) the aid that was sent to Nepal following the recent earthquakes; how much such aid they sent, and what assessment they have made of how much was sent by British citizens; and how much of that aid fulfilled the purposes for which it was sent.

Baroness Verma

While emergency aid has reached most areas, we still estimate one million people will be living in temporary shelters at altitudes above 1,500 metres over the winter and are in need of urgent cold weather support. DFID, through its partners, is providing winter support to approximately 42,000 families (over 200,000 people) both via in kind assistance (blankets, mattresses, clothes, shelter insulation, solar lamps and cook stoves), as well as through a number of activities that contribute to an enabling environment for an effective and responsive humanitarian support. For example we are supporting helicopter operations to provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance to communities in areas inaccessible by land. Winter distributions are over 60 % complete and are expected to be fully complete by the end of January.

Information on total aid sent to Nepal in the aftermath of the earthquake can be found online through UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affair’s (OCHA) Financial Tracking System which is updated periodically. DFID’s response to the devastating earthquake now stands at £70 million following further commitments made at the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction. Funds raised by the British public for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal have already reached over £85 million, which includes £5 million in matched funding provided by DFID. More information on Nepal DEC work including a review of the response is available online. The UK is committed to ensuring that our assistance is made available to those most in need. We work with trusted partner NGO’s and UN agencies to deliver the UK humanitarian effort. These groups provide real time feedback of the situation on the ground to ensure DFID funds are used effectively.