Nepal, UK sign Rs. 13 billion grant agreement for climate resilience

Nepal and the United Kingdom have signed two separate memorandums of understanding (MoU) relating to grant aid amounting to approximately Rs. 13 billion on Wednesday. One of the grants with funding of around Rs 6.5 billion is for the programme focused on resilience, adaptation, and inclusion in Nepal, while another amounting to Rs 6.58 billion is related with gender and human development outcomes.

According to officials, Resilience, Adaptation, and Inclusion in Nepal (RAIN) programme is a six-year initiative to be implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and the Ministry of Forest and Environment (MoFE) to strengthen disaster risk management and climate change adaptation, respectively. The RAIN programme will operate in Karnali, Lumbini, and Madhesh provinces.

The second agreement, Samartha is a seven-year programme designed to enhance the systems and capacities of provincial and local governments to expand access to and deliver quality social services, with a particular focus on the education and health sectors. This programme will be implemented by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) and the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP). Samartha will operate in the Lumbini and Madhesh provinces.

The MoUs were signed by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Dhani Ram Sharma, on behalf of Nepal government and Development Director and Deputy Ambassador at the British Embassy in Kathmandu, Pippa Bird on behalf of the UK government, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.

During the grant signing ceremony, Joint Secretary Sharma remarked, “These two MoUs are testament to the cordial and steadfast development cooperation between our two countries. I believe that the relevant government agencies will coordinate effectively to achieve the objectives of these programs.”