Country overview - A little background about Nepal.

Nepal is a landlocked Himalayan country, bordered by two emerging Asian giants, China in the North and India in the East, West and South.

In November 2006, after a decade of civil war, the Maoists and the government, led by the Seven Party Alliance, signed the Comprehensive Peace Accord, paving the way for the Maoists to join mainstream politics and give up armed insurgency. National elections were held in April 2008 with the Maoist party winning more parliamentary seats than any other single party. The monarchy has been ousted and the country is in the midst of reframing their political future with the drafting of a new constitution.

Nepal has only marginally benefited from the economic growth in its two neighbour countries. Overseas remittances, which are growing at the rate of over 30 percent every year and benefiting 31.9 per cent of households, are a major contributor to the country's economy. However, Nepal remains one of the poorest countries in the world with a per capita GDP of only US$330 (compared to Australia's GDP of US$43,540 per capita), and a largely agrarian economy.

Development Challenges

Despite its natural beauty, Nepal is a very poor country, with serious issues of poverty, including infant and child mortality, malnutrition, lack of access to safe drinking water, poor sanitation, illiteracy and preventable diseases. In this setting other serious issues have arose such as human trafficking, child abuse and child labour.

Nepal is among the poorest and least developed countries in the world, with 42% of its population living below the poverty line. Additionally, statistics show that:

- 27,000 children die of diarrhea every year
- 60,000 children die every year before they reach their 5th birthday
- 2.6 million children are engaged in different sectors of child labour, with 40,000
of these being bonded labourers
- Approximately 12,000 women and children are annually trafficked to India
- 34% of marriages involve children below 15 years old
- Approximately 100 children are in adult jails
- Nepal is ranked 1st in the world for child disappearances
- The political conflict, drought, famine, disease, severe thunderstorms, flooding and landslides
cause thousands of children to be orphaned, abandoned or displaced

* Source – Child Welfare in Nepal (CWIN)

In the most recent CWIN report it is noted that more than 3,000 children have been displaced and over 1,500 orphaned due to the violent political conflict in the country. The current political situation has made everyday life a struggle; prices have risen from countrywide blockades, tourism is down, and many young adults have fled the country or been injured or killed as a result of the political tensions. The orphans and street children of Nepal, marginalised by society, are vulnerable to various abuses: they are bought into indentured servitude, sold into the sex trade industry and often they are also introduced to the street life culture of drugs and crime.