INGOs’ support scatters over many small projects

Kathmandu, Nov. 21

International Non-Government Organisations (INGOs) are found scattering their financial supports to numerous tiny programmes.

They have mobilised Rs. 698.3 million support as the COVID-19 relief in 14 projects in the first four months of the current Fiscal Year 2021/22, according to the statistics of the Social Welfare Council (SWC).

The average programme spending of the INGOs stands at Rs. 49.5 million. Adventist Development and Relief Agency had pledged to support just Rs. 5.6 million for a three months programme in Solukhumbu and Okhaldhunga districts.

Likewise, Child Rescue Nepal (CRN)'s six programme on COVID-19 response is of just Rs. 9 million.

As per the SWC statistics, the largest project agreement signed by an INGO in the past four months of the current fiscal is on 'Building resilience and ensuring basic needs for the most vulnerable affected by COVID-19 and monsoon disasters in Nepal', a 10-months programme of Rs. 182.6 million, supported by Mercy Corps.

Likewise, Catholic Relief Services is implementing Rs. 142 million 'COVID-19 emergency response and recovery project' in Gorkha and Palpa districts for two years.

Situation in the last quarter of the last FY 2020/21 was even worse as the INGOs mobilised Rs. 479 million in 112 COVID-19 related projects with average project cost of just Rs. 4.2 million.

In that period, INGOs have mobilised as small as Rs. 253,000 through national NGOs. AEIN Luxembourg has provided the support for psycho-social consultation to 100 women in Sindhupalchowk district.

There were dozens of project that had the budget of less than Rs. 1 million.

The SWC said that Rs. 14.62 billion support of INGOs was mobilised last year by 699 NGOs in more than 700 projects across the country. The average programme project spending was about Rs. 2 million.

Most of the programmes are related to consultation, awareness creation and social mobilisation while a small portion of it was related to infrastructure or development projects such as solar projects.

Member of the National Planning Commission Saloni Pradhan Singh, who has the responsibility of SWC as well, said that Nepal should make a strategy to mobilise the funds brought in the country by the INGOs.

"There should be some arrangements to invite such investment in need-based and priority sectors," she said. According to her, the NPC is looking into some complaints about the INGOs interventions in project implementation and SWC's exercise to ask money from the INGOs in the name of monitoring and evaluation.

However, Singh said that the INGOs were also suffered the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and many of them have withdrawn project and left the country.

 Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 November 2021.