Government prioritises food security

The government claimed that it has highly prioritized food security to meet the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Addressing the board meeting of World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome finance minister Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada said that Nepal has highly prioritised the issue of food security in order to meet the target of SDGs. Hde also expressed Nepal’s commitment to ensure food security and achieve zero hunger in a few years time.
"This meeting is important for Nepal also for the reason that the new five-year country strategic plan of WFP is being approved by the executive board," he said, adding that the plan has been developed in a highly participatory way, aligning with the national priorities, UNDAF and SDGs. "The government will work together with WFP to implement it."
Nepal – being a signatory to 2030 Agenda for SDGs – is implementing it and prioritising them with a focus on SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), which would be instrumental in achieving several other SDGs including No Poverty, Education, and Good Health and Well-Being.
"This prioritisation of SDG 2 is supported strongly by our commitment to ensuring human right to adequate food, now constitutionally enshrined through the Right to Food and Food Sovereignty Act 2018; thereby enshrining Zero Hunger within the constitution,” Khatiwada added.

Government, UN signs strategic development assistance framework

National Planning Commission (NPC) and United Nations (UN) Country Team in Nepal signed the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for 2018 -22 at a special function here today.
The UNDAF lays out the development strategy for the UN Country Team in Nepal for the next five years. The $635 million package involving 26 individual UN agencies, spans interventions aimed at assisting in four broad areas including Inclusive Economic Growth; Social Development including Resilience, Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction; and Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights.
"We are pleased to sign this framework with the UN in Nepal to broadly align with our national priorities as envisioned by the government," said the National Planning Commission (NPC) chair Swarnim Waglé after signing ceremony. "It will contribute to Nepal's ambition to achieve the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development."
Likewise, UN resident coordinator Valerie Julliand, on the occasion, said that the UNDAF shows what the UN can achieve when it works together across agencies and mandates. "The strong alignment of the UNDAF with the national plans, international conventions, and the Constitution of Nepal provides the foundation to support Nepal’s efforts in ensuring that ‘no one is left behind’ as laid out in the Sustainable Development Goals."

Diversified, vibrant economy must to absorb labour force

Weak institutional capacity, fluid political environment and limited political representation, limited human capital and confidence, geographic remoteness and weak rule of law coupled with sluggish economic growth and unequal distribution of economic resources made the economy more vulnerable, according to the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (2013-2017).

Lack of employment, or alternative livelihood opportunities, is a major root cause for vulnerability, the report said, adding that it is particularly so for groups that do not have economic resources like land, of their own.

Declining returns on agricultural production and a stagnating manufacturing sector are severely impacting groups that have traditionally depended on agriculture, as well as those who have moved to urban areas in search of better opportunities, it added.

A diversified and vibrant economy that can absorb current labour force, including youth, people with low human capital and those from rural areas, is urgently needed, it said, adding that a failure to create this will further drain Nepal of its biggest asset, its people.

Above 500,000 Nepalis migrated in the last fiscal year due to lack of employment opportunity in the country.

Limited human capital and confidence is a significant recurring theme influencing the economic, social and political aspects of vulnerability, according to the UNDAF, which concludes that human capital is important because education, skills and awareness of one’s rights are required in order to perform well in all aspects of life and for all segments of society. "Skills and specialised abilities are needed to actively and meaningfully participate in the economy of a country and education and general awareness are needed to participate in the polity and society, and to understand one’s own position in the overall system of governance, social custom and traditions."

It influences how people relate to one another in society and how effectively individuals can seek protection from the state, if and when their rights are violated, it added.

Due to a combination of factors including ongoing political instability, poor infrastructure and low levels of investment in most sectors of the economy including agriculture, energy and industry, the country is not in a position to provide sufficient levels of economic opportunities to significantly improve the livelihoods of a population of 26.6 million, a quarter of which — nearly 6.7 million — live below the national poverty line.

While most people of working age have work, they either do not have enough working hours or are not paid enough to lift themselves and their families out of poverty, the five year strategy said. "In this context, creating an enabling environment for increasing access to, and the creation of, more and better quality jobs — access to economic opportunities — while addressing short-term needs and objectives — like economic empowerment and adequate social protection — are critical elements for the sustainable and long-term development of Nepal’s economy and society.

UN, NPC publish $685 million UNDAF package for Nepal

National Planning Commission, and the United Nations Country Team in Nepal, today, jointly published the approved United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for 2013-2017 that promises a package of $685 million for the next five years.

The framework — a common development strategy for the UN Country Team in Nepal for the next five years — involves 24 individual UN agencies for interventions aimed at assisting vulnerable groups better access development progress, to activities aimed at protecting Nepal’s development gains, and support aimed at facilitating Nepal’s international cooperation.

The strategy had been under preparation for over one year, in a process involving hundreds of local and international subject-experts and officials, the UN said, adding that the five-year framework outlines various measures to uplift communities through the activities of UN agencies.

Earlier, on September 6, during the signing ceremony of the framework, vice chair of National Planning Commission (NPC) Deependra Bahadur Kshetry had also hailed UN agencies’ assistance to Nepal, especially in the area of social upliftment of backward communities which remains important.

"The framework addresses the right issues with a clear sense of purpose, ambition and urgency, setting the stage for an exciting period of renewed collaboration between the United Nations Development Group and Nepal," said UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Robert Piper, adding that it was time to strengthen efforts to bring it to life.