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Written evidence submitted by VSO Nepal
1. Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) is an independent, UK based charity, which works through volunteers to fight poverty in developing countries. It places experienced professional people as international volunteers to work with government and civil society organizations in improving health, education, disability, HIV&AIDS, livelihoods and governance.
2. VSO has been in Nepal since 1964 and currently has an average of 45 volunteers working in its Education, HIV&AIDS and Governance programmes.
3. This memorandum responds to the International Development Committee's request for opinions on DFID's programme in Nepal and specifically focuses on DFID Nepal's;
· support for governance and state building; · approach to achieving poverty reduction and improving access to basic services; and · efforts to reduce social exclusion and inequality.
4. VSO in Nepal has a good and increasingly strong relationship with the DFID Country Office in Nepal, with the current Head of DFID Nepal providing excellent support to VSO Nepal's programme.
5. DFID Nepal's Country Business Plan 2009-2012 is very consistent with much of the country context that VSO Nepal and its government and civil society partners have documented as part of VSO's own strategic planning review. Specifically, that;
· the Government of Nepal's local and sectoral development plans (health, education, employment) need both financial and capacity building support to increase their responsiveness to the needs of all people, especially the most marginalised and excluded peoples.
· that there remains significant gaps in access to basic services and that the poorest people in Nepal are often also the most excluded (girls access to school, women's access to decision making, Dalit, People with Disability and People Living with HIV&AIDS access to education, health and jobs).
6. DFID Nepal's approach to dealing with these problems is partially consistent with VSO Nepal own emerging strategy conclusion; that to encourage institutional accountability and increase access to basic services it needs to work in an even more multi-layered approach in its programmes; continuing to give support to civil society organisations while increasing and reinforcing its work with government line ministries;
· the Ministry of Education (supporting the DFID/SWAp supported "School Sector Reform Plan"); · the Ministry of Health (supporting the DFID/SWAp sponsored "National Health Development Partnership" and the "Health Sector Strategic Plan"); and · the Ministry of Local Development (supporting the the DFID/SWAp sponsored "Local Government & Community Development Programme")
7. DFID's specific concern on Climate Change is also very much shared by VSO Nepal.
· Nepal's average temperature has increased 0.6oC in the last ten years compared to a global average of 0.74oC in the last one hundred years;
· Nepal has started experiencing shorter, more intense monsoon seasons, with a prediction of a twenty percent reduction in monsoon rains by the end of the 21st century, threatening flash flooding during monsoon months and extreme water shortages in the long dry season;
· Predictions are that thirty five percent of
glaciers in the
· Predictions are that, as a result, crop production will fall between 4 and 10%.
[International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, ICIMOD, 2009]
8. DFID has shown tremendous support to women and girls for several years and this is very consistent with VSO's commitment to advocating for increased to girls access to Education as well as women's access to health care, livelihoods and decision making.
9. Where VSO Nepal's approach to development differs from DFID Nepal's Country Business Plan 2009-2012 is in the priority VSO gives to also supporting civil society organisations' capacity building (to raise "the voice" of marginalised peoples and to hold the Government to account on inclusion and responsiveness).
VSO welcomes direct budget support that can build up the authority and capacity of the government to serve its citizens but VSO feels that other stakeholders need to be more involved. - e.g. NGOs - in decision making and reporting on success of this.
In this regard, there should be funds available for supporting civil society, especially capacity building. VSO particularly welcomes the proposed Southern PPAs to support civil society - as described in the recent white paper. This would be especially effective if grants were made directly to Southern NGOs
DFID's Enabling State Programme in
10. In responding to VSO Nepal's email request for comment from its civil society partners on DFID Nepal's Country Business Plan 2009-2012, one Disability partner responded
· "The many donor agencies, which go out of
their way to be seen as championing the causes of the poor in
· "we are surprised not to get a single word 'disability or person with disabilities' after going through DFID's country business plan for 09-12 so how can people find it inclusive and disabled friendly when it has not mentioned anything about it."
· "Although the support by DFID as well as other
foreign aid and the associated foreign assistance in
11. Another partner from VSO Nepal's HIV & AIDS programme and which had received funding support from DFID in previous years commented that, while being extremely positive about DFID Nepal's approach to development (particularly in "addressing core and burning issues of Nepal");
· "The results will be more positive if DFID give more focus on supporting capacity building of implementing staffs as well as organization, so that in future they may take over the full responsibility of effective implementation of the program. "
12. Another HIV&AIDS partner had very similar comments, that its DFID Nepal funded programme had remarkable success in changing behaviours; "Peer educators were consciously mobilised in communities and well-trained them to provide a range of support health services through awareness raising and sensitisation as well as bringing local community on board to address stigma and discriminate against PLHAs", but;
· "Capacity building training and exposure were not given which were highly essential to staff as well as Peer Educators. They were working with less training & exposure."
13. One anecdotal comment from Dalit civil society partners of VSO Nepal in late 2008 was that DFID Nepal was not actively encouraging inclusion; that it had allocated only 7% of its programmes budget to Dalit organisations in 2007/2008 compared to its (2001 Census) 13% of the population .
14. VSO's direct relationships with civil society partners has helped us learn about these kinds of issues and to try to respond to them in our own programmes.
15. Overall, VSO Nepal is very happy with its relationship with DFID Nepal and its sector wide approach in Education, Health and Governance. However it is surprised at the reduction of direct support to civil society organisations representing the most marginalised peoples in Nepal (although there is continued support through the Rights, Democracy and Inclusion Fund) and the absence of encouragement for non state actors and the government to collaborate.
16. VSO Nepal believes there is great opportunity to link its volunteer programme objectives to those of DFID Nepal and to work even closer together in supporting the capacity development of both governance and civil society (for example, in ensuring that DFID's seconded member of staff In the Ministry of Education works closely with VSO Nepal's organisation development advisor in the same Ministry). The majority of VSO's work is at the meso and micro level while DFID's work is at the macro level. VSO is well-informed about how policies are implemented and their real effects (or lack of them) in schools and communities. Increased cooperation would lead to better policy-making and better implementation.
17. One final comment. DFID Nepal's Country Business Plan 2009-2012 and complimenting brochure is very clear and understand. But it would be more accessible and inclusive if it were also available in Nepali and in Braille and audio).
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