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The Government of Nepal, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) attended a ceremony to mark the start of the construction of a new Humanitarian Staging Area in the Gandaki Province.
The hub in Pokhara, funded by the European Union and managed by WFP in close cooperation with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and the Ministry of Home Affairs, is the last of the twelve staging facilities built to support provincial and national emergency response operations across the country. Once completed, each of the seven provinces will be equipped with their own staging area, thereby forming a network to improve storage and transport of relief goods to remote locations during emergencies and crises.
The decision to construct a provincial staging area in Pokhara follows the success of the UK-funded Kathmandu hub, which was launched one month before the devastating 2015 earthquake as the central humanitarian hub for emergency preparedness and response. The timely activation of the facility saved 21 days in response time, facilitating a faster delivery of relief supplies to those in desperate need.
“Here in Nepal, natural disasters like floods and landslides are a significant threat and it is the poorest communities who suffer the most,” said Veronique Lorenzo, EU Ambassador to Nepal at the ceremony. “The European Union is working with WFP to build a new emergency response hub allowing us and the Government of Nepal to act faster and save more lives when there is a crisis or a disaster.”
The ceremony took place at the Pokhara airport and was attended by Basudev Ghimire, Chief District Officer, Kaski district together with senior officials from WFP.
“Investing in emergency preparedness can save time and lives. Logistics bases at the provincial level, together with capacity building of humanitarian agencies and government will help each province respond to disasters faster and more effectively,” said Robert Kasca, WFP Nepal Representative and Country Director. “We are thankful to the European Union for their generous contribution of US$ 161,000 for this important initiative.”
WFP has been supporting the Government of Nepal since 2013 to build a national network of humanitarian staging areas to strengthen emergency preparedness and response capacities across the country.
