Pitambar Sigdel

Kathmandu— The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has officially terminated development projects in Nepal totaling $319,651,075, equivalent to approximately 44.35 billion Nepalese rupees. The move affects initiatives across multiple sectors, including health, education, agriculture, governance, and disaster resilience. The withdrawal marks a significant shift in Nepal’s aid landscape, impacting projects that have supported economic growth, public health, and institutional development.

Breakdown of Terminated Programs by Sector

The health and nutrition sector faces a major loss, with over $81.4 million in terminated funding. The USAID Nutrition Project, valued at $72 million, was one of the largest initiatives targeting improved nutrition for women, adolescents, and children in marginalized communities. Additionally, HIV/AIDS prevention programs worth $4.4 million, which aimed to control the epidemic and provide treatment to at-risk populations, have been discontinued. The USAID Health Learning program, which supported monitoring, evaluation, and research in Nepal’s healthcare sector with $4,999,194 in funding, has also been cut.

Education programs have also been significantly affected, with over $30.3 million in terminations. The USAID Education: Equity and Inclusion initiative, a $20 million program supporting marginalized students and retention efforts, has been halted. The USAID Education Emergency Response project, which provided $5,132,398 in aid to earthquake-affected school communities, has ended, along with the USAID Agriculture Higher Education program, which received $5 million to strengthen university-level agricultural education and research.

The agriculture and livelihoods sector accounts for one of the largest financial setbacks, losing over $86.5 million in funding. The USAID Agriculture Transformation initiative, which had a budget of $56 million to improve productivity, market access, and climate resilience, has been terminated. Another major project, USAID Agricultural Inputs, worth $24,564,999, focused on enhancing agricultural sustainability and competitiveness but is now discontinued. Additional programs, such as the USAID Nepali Tea Partnership ($1 million) and USAID Digital Agriculture ($1 million), have also been cut, reducing support for Nepal’s farming and export industries.

Governance and justice initiatives have lost over $25.5 million in USAID support. The USAID Community Justice Activity, which aimed to improve access to justice for marginalized communities with a $5 million budget, has been discontinued. The USAID Democratic Processes program, valued at $14 million, which worked to strengthen Nepal’s democratic institutions and governance, has also ended. Additionally, the $4 million USAID Hamro Samman II project, which focused on combating human trafficking, has been terminated.

Infrastructure and environmental projects have suffered a financial reduction of over $15.2 million. The USAID Clean Air project, valued at $13 million, was designed to combat air pollution in Kathmandu Valley but has been discontinued. The USAID Building Green initiative, which promoted eco-friendly construction materials with a budget of $296,296, is no longer operational.

Disaster resilience and emergency response programs have also faced significant cuts, with over $10.9 million in funding withdrawn. The Early Recovery for Earthquake-Affected Areas project, which had $1,372,966 in allocated funds to assist disaster-hit communities, has been stopped. Similarly, the $1,185,754 Building Disaster-Resilient Communities initiative, which aimed to strengthen disaster preparedness, has been terminated. The Sustainable Disaster Management program, valued at $700,000, has also been discontinued, reducing support for long-term emergency response efforts.