Effectiveness of Humanitarian Efforts During Nepal Earthquake

Running head: EFFECTIVENESS OF HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS DURING NEPAL EARTHQUAKE
EFFECTIVENESS OF HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS DURING NEPAL EARTHQUAKE
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EFFECTIVENESS OF HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS DURING NEPAL EARTHQUAKE
Description of the disaster
Known also as the Gorkha earthquake, the Nepal earthquake took place in the year 2015
on April 25. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 to 8.1Mw on the Richter scale and its
intensity was recorded on the Severe on the Mercalli Intensity. The earthquake claimed around
9,000 lives, injured more than 25,000 people and thousands others were rendered homeless. The
earthquakes epicenter was near the Gorkha District at the town of Barpak. Another 21 people
were also killed owing to an avalanche at the Mount Everest caused by the earthquake. Several
UNESCO declared World Heritage Sites were ruined due to the earthquake especially in the
capital city of Kathmandu. The aftershocks of the earthquake were also disastrous especially the
major aftershock that occurred on 12 May. It claimed nearly 200 lives hitting the country with a
magnitude of 7.Mw.
Immediately after the disaster shook Nepal, help and support started pouring in beginning
with its neighboring countries. Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka provided initial relief
and rescue materials to Nepal. The United Nations collaborated with the Government of Nepal
and along with 450 humanitarian agencies at the local level, relief operations began. CARE
Nepal was the relief organization that worked locally for providing humanitarian efforts. Other
major international organizations including the International Red Cross Society and Oxfam also
sent immediate relief to Nepal.
However, four years after the devastation, Nepal is yet to recover completely. The major
heritage sites and buildings that were destroyed are still seen in rubbles. Around 70 percent of
the affected residents are still living in temporary shelters. This shows that the international
humanitarian organizations, although quick to respond, failed to provide relief to the affected

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EFFECTIVENESS OF HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS DURING NEPAL EARTHQUAKE
people. One of the prime reasons for this has been the slow and lethargic work by the local
authorities who failed to accumulate the relief amount and put it into use.
Disaster relief effort
Innumerable international organizations came forward to provide relief efforts to Nepal.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) provided initial relief efforts with activities
including removal of debris and managing emergency livelihoods. Apart from that, the UNDP
also assisted in the Post-Disaster needs Assessment of the Nepal government to indentify the
immediate needs and fulfill those needs immediately. The UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), that had been active in Nepal since 2005 also provided large-
scale emergency response during the earthquake. The earthquake led to the re-establishment of
OCHA’s country office to aid better during the disaster. Oxfam International also came up with
disaster relief efforts and set up numerous temporary shelters for the affected people. Other than
setting up the temporary shelters, the organization also managed to provide food items and
drinking water facilities to the affected ones (Oxfam.org, 2019). The Medicines Sans Frontiers
(MSF) organization also involved in providing disaster relief efforts to the people. Although it
majorly helped in providing medical and hygienic help, providing temporary shelters were also
done. the relief efforts continued after the second major aftershock on 12 May as well. The MSF,
along with providing health consultations, psychological support and treating patients distributed
food and shelter to the affected people. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies (IFRC) in collaboration with the Nepal Red Cross Society provided disaster
relief efforts to the affected people during the emergency phase (Ifrc.org, 2019). According to
the statistics provided in the organization’s website, food assistance was provided to 496, 724
families. Around 42,000 families were given cash grants on unconditional basis for immediate