The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has entered into a partnership with Humanity & Inclusion (HI) to support the recovery of livelihoods and enhance income-generating opportunities of persons with disabilities in five of the most earthquake-affected districts in the country.

At the signing ceremony held today at UN House, Country Director of UNDP in Nepal Renaud Meyer and Country Director of HI Nepal Willy Bergogne, signed an MoU, formalizing the partnership. 

The year-long project is set to be implemented in Gorkha, Dhading, Rasuwa, Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha, and will focus on promoting inclusive livelihood programming and Disability Inclusive Development (DID) practices. Besides identifying 200 most vulnerable households (40 per district), including households with persons with disabilities, and providing them support for skills development and sustainable income-generating activities, the project further seeks to contribute to the development of accessible infrastructure in the process of post-earthquake reconstruction by creating awareness and providing technical support to local authorities and other stakeholders.

Among the project’s intended activities are training and support for on-farm and off-farm income-generating activities in the target areas, where at least 100 households—50 percent among them having women with disabilities—with be provided seed money to initiate or recover their enterprises and other livelihood opportunities. Additionally, in a bid to develop better safety nets and referral systems for persons with disabilities, 50 people identified as the most vulnerable will also be supported in accessing improved social protection services and humanitarian assistance, among other provisions.