At least 700,000 additional people were projected to be pushed into poverty by the earthquake. Most of the affected people were either already poor or vulnerable, according to Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) published in June.
"What could have been transient poverty is turning out to be structural poverty due to delay in reconstruction works," Resident Senior Economist of UNDP Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis said, adding that reconstruction works should begin as early as possible.
The PDNA had also warned about such consequences due to delay in reconstruction and rehabilitation works. "The loss of poorly built residential houses, farmland and livestock will amplify the income shock and push poor households below the poverty line for an extended period if reconstruction and rehabilitation activities are delayed," the report states.
The population in the lowest two income quintiles is likely to be particularly affected.
Human development index (HDI) of nine of the 14 severely affected districts is lower than the national average, indicating that they lag behind other districts in terms of average income, education and health. Twenty-five percent of the population, or 6,588,664 Nepalis, are living below the poverty line, according to statistics of Central Bureau of Statistics.
People living on less than Rs 54 per day are classified as living below the poverty line.
The government has made commitment to start reconstruction works by forming a powerful authority for reconstruction. But political bickering has delayed formation of authority. The government has neither been able to enact law to form the authority, nor establish its office.
Delay and uncertainty in reconstruction works coupled with ongoing blockade will affect Nepal's ambition of graduating to a league of developing countries by 2022 from the group of least developed countries.
'The Least Developed Countries Report' launched on Wednesday presents a roadmap to address rural poverty, lack of progress in rural transformation, and root causes of migration within and from the LDCs. The report's recommendations aspire to slow this process by focusing on rural development, which emphasizes poverty reduction and thus seeks to create the conditions for a rural-urban migration process driven primarily by choice rather than necessity, said a press release issued on the day.
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