A long-term ally of the United States, Nepal is nestled in the Himalayan mountains between two fast-growing, influential economies–India and China. Despite being one of the poorest countries in the world, Nepal plays a critical role in regional stability and connectivity. The United States partners with Nepal to build a democratic, resilient South Asia.

Though Nepal has one of the slowest growing economies in Asia, the country continues to make steadfast progress in overcoming its many development challenges—including a decade-long insurgency that ended in 2006 and earthquakes that killed over 9,000 people in 2015.

Committed to helping Nepal achieve its goal of attaining middle-income status by 2030, USAID builds self-reliance by partnering with Nepal to strengthen the private sector, civil society and the government’s ability to serve its citizens to forge a more prosperous, peaceful and democratic nation.  Continuing to support Nepal’s sustainable development is critical to building a reliable partner for the United States in the Indo-Pacific region.

OUR WORK

USAID’s work helps Nepal to boost food security, sustainably manage natural resources, improve access to quality health care and education, bolster democratic governance and build its capacity to mitigate and respond to natural disasters. USAID’s efforts support Nepal’s continued development into a self-reliant and resilient partner that may, in turn, bolster U.S. and regional security and economic prosperity.

FOOD SECURITY AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 

Limited access to agricultural supplies and markets threaten farmers’ livelihoods. To enable farmers to earn a living wage, USAID forges partnerships between suppliers, producers, wholesalers and retailers. As a result, more than 118,000 farm households increased their annual sales by an average of 380 percent from 2012-17. Unfortunately, unplanned development and a growing population threaten Nepal’s natural resources. To address this, USAID promotes socially and environmentally responsible hydropower development, sustainable forest and water management and wildlife conservation.

HEALTH AND EDUCATION

Due to limited access to high-quality health care, one out of every 30 Nepali children dies before reaching his or her first birthday. To save lives, USAID increases access to high-quality, decentralized and equitable health services. Between 2011-16, USAID helped to decrease Nepal’s under-5 mortality rate by 28 percent. Similarly, low-quality education threatens Nepal’s future—only 12.8 percent of third grade students can read. Since foundational reading skills are critical to building a literate, skilled population, USAID partners to improve the reading outcomes of one million students in grades 1-3.

DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE

As Nepal transitions to a democratic nation, the country faces one of its toughest challenges yet—adjusting to a new federal structure. Nepal reiterated its commitment to more inclusive and transparent governance by adopting a new constitution in 2015 and successfully completing historic local elections after 20 years in 2017. USAID's support helped Nepal to realize a record 75 percent voter turnout. More than 1.7 million Nepalis—over 10 percent of total eligible voters, most of whom were women or members of marginalized groups—registered to vote for the first time.

DISASTER RISK REDUCTION, RESILIENCE AND RECONSTRUCTION

Natural disasters affect thousands of people each year, thwarting Nepal’s journey to self-reliance. USAID is leading the effort to build government capacity to fulfill post-earthquake reconstruction commitments and mitigate and respond to future disasters. As a result, over 251,000 Nepalis have earthquake-resilient homes and 112,000 have access to health and education facilities built to the highest standard.