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 2009-12
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; and
— 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
0.6C in the last 10 years compared to a global average of
0.74C in the last 100 years.
— Nepal has started experiencing shorter,
more intense monsoon seasons, with a prediction of a 20% 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 35% of glaciers
in the Himalayas will disappear by 2050, risking glacial lake
outbursts, destabilising slopes and increasing risk of land slides.
— 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 2009-12 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.—eg 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 Nepal has
been giving support to activist organisations and has been a very
effective programme. But it is not clear how it will continue
in future.
10. In responding to VSO Nepal's email request
for comment from its civil society partners on DFID Nepal's Country
Business Plan 2009-12, 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 Nepal, have so far failed to contribute to real poverty
alleviation as they overlooked the socio-economic situation and
felt needs of person with disability."
— "We are surprised not to get a single
word `disability or person with disabilities' after going through
DFID's country business plan for 2009-12 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 Nepal's overall development have been prominent but in our
view the disability component is missing in their actual execution.
Normally, International NGOs have their own priority areas and
they work in the same line but mostly the programmes are not focussed
on person with disabilities. We have a strong feeling that if
DFID promotes its partners to put more emphasis on disability
related issues and make sure its effective implementation, this
deprived section will be really benefited."
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 2007-08
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 2009-12 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).
Simon Brown
Assistant Country Director
VSO Nepal
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