UN aid agencies forced to downsize due to US funding cuts
Nepal, Kerauja, Gorkha District, 06 May 2015 On 25 April at 11:56 am, a destructive earthquake of 7.8 magnitude hit Nepal with the epicentre about 60 km outside the Kathmandu Valley. A total of 30 out of 75 districts of the country have been affected, the worst affected are Gorkha, Lamjung, Sindhupalchowk, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Laltpur districts, across rural and urban areas. The Government has officially declared a state of emergency and asked for international humanitarian assistance.? ?The impact in Kathmandu includes collapsed buildings and walls, especially historical buildings in the city centre, but overall less damage than what was predicted. In the Kathmandu Valley, hospitals are overcrowded, running out of medicine, doctors and beds for the injured. Nepals oldest hospital, Bir Hospital, has been treating people on the street.?The majority of the people are staying outside at night in order to avoid being injured from the aftershocks. ??WFP has started emergency operations with staff from around the world by providing common services for the entire humanitarian community - from storage facilities to supporting the transportation of not only food, but other crucial relief items.? In the Photo: From WFPs forward operating relief hub in Deurali, the UNHAS helicopter offloads relief supplies at a distribution point in Kerauja VDC in Gorkha District in Nepal. The villagers go to the landing area to help offload the tents and High Energy Biscuits for distribution. Photo: WFP/Angeli Mendoza
The UN has acknowledged that several aid agencies will have to downsize or reduce the scope of their operations following a significant withdrawal of funding by the United States.
According to the Associated Press, agencies such as the UN World Food Programme are expected to cut around 30% of there current staff, while others, like the UN High Commission for Refugees, have announced plans to close approximately 30% of their offices in response to the funding cuts.
Commenting on the situation, a WFP official described the reduction as “the most massive” in the agency’s history and warned that some UN operations may be forced to shut down entirely as a result.
Associated Press
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