Behaviour change needed to combat malnutrition in Nepal

KATHMANDU, 1 May 2013 (IRIN) - More work is needed to improve nutritional behaviour in Nepal, where nearly half of children under five are chronically malnourished, experts say. full report

Imagining a major quake in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, 26 April 2013 (IRIN) - It is the nightmare scenario aid workers and government officials have long feared: a massive earthquake striking Nepal’s densely populated Kathmandu Valley, with tens of thousands feared dead. full report

Nepal to boost search-and-rescue capabilities

KATHMANDU, 11 April 2013 (IRIN) - Experts have long predicted widespread devastation and death should a large earthquake hit Nepal, a country with vulnerable infrastructure and ill-equipped urban search-and-rescue teams. In an effort to prepare for such an event, officials have created a strategy to boost emergency responders’ skills. full report

Nepal turns to renewable energy

KATHMANDU, 5 April 2013 (IRIN) - Nepal’s recently adopted policy of subsidizing renewable energy is the latest of many attempts to electrify long-deprived areas, but much more is needed, say experts. full report

Earthquake-proofing Nepal's at-risk airport

KATHMANDU, 2 April 2013 (IRIN) - If an earthquake the magnitude of Haiti’s 2010 quake were to strike Nepal’s capital area, the country’s only international airport would be crippled, with no backup plan for receiving essential relief. But now, in response to long-standing predictions of such a catastrophe, the government has endorsed an earthquake preparedness plan for Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA); the plan is set to become public in one month. full report

Analysis: Rethinking food insecurity in Nepal’s Karnali region

KATHMANDU, 21 March 2013 (IRIN) - Development assistance on its own will not resolve chronic levels of food insecurity in Nepal’s western Karnali Zone, described by many as a “silent emergency”. Rather, a more measured and integrated approach is required in some areas, including relief, say experts and government officials. full report

Analysis: Nepal’s maternal mortality decline paradox

KATHMANDU, 18 March 2013 (IRIN) - While health experts applaud Nepal’s declining maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in recent years, they say this gain is unsustainable if the country does not address its lack of qualified health staff, especially midwives, to keep women in childbirth alive. full report

Kathmandu road scheme, demolitions heighten seismic risk

KATHMANDU, 1 March 2013 (IRIN) - A large-scale road-widening project across Nepal’s capital city of Kathmandu, one of the most seismically active cities in the world, has placed hundreds more buildings at risk of collapse in the event of an earthquake, experts warn. full report

Analysis: Politicians, donors question donor neutrality in Nepal

KATHMANDU, 26 February 2013 (IRIN) - Dissent in Nepal over the role of ethnicity in a post-conflict state has put donor agencies under increased scrutiny, with politicians and analysts accusing them of meddling, taking sides and circumventing the government to push an agenda of “social cohesion”. full report