MANILA (AFP) — Japan and the United Nations are providing 2.2 million dollars in aid to protect families and children displaced by internal conflict in Nepal, the Asian Development Bank said.
The Manila-based bank will administer a two million-peso component of the aid from a fund provided by Tokyo, while the UN Children's Fund will provide the balance.
"The overall goal of the project is to improve the situation of conflict-affected and vulnerable families and children in a sustainable manner," said ADB social protection specialist Axel Weber.
The project will pilot a child and family protection and support system in five districts of Nepal, the bank added.
Political instability and violence have marred Nepal's recent history. In 2006, the coalition government signed a peace accord with the Maoist Communist Party of Nepal, ending a violent 11-year insurgency.
The armed conflict displaced between 100,000 and 200,000 people. Children Win, a local child-support group, estimates that 40,000 children have been displaced since 1996.
"Although the recent political change can pave the way for sustainable peace and stability, the conflict that escalated during past years has put tremendous stress on protection mechanisms and exposed vulnerable populations, women and children in particular, to exploitation and abuse," said Weber.
Meanwhile, the ADB is also providing a 350,000-dollar grant to Nepal to develop a land administration and management system.
"Information is acquired, stored, updated, collated, and retrieved manually in paper form with a low level of accuracy and high risk of distortion and duplication," said Susanne Nebel, ADB rural development specialist.
"Major land records are also deteriorating due to poor storage and there is no provision for recovering many of these records in case of a disaster," she added.
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