Sindhupalchok has been classified as a severely food insecure district where households are unable to meet food and non-food needs without losing livelihood assets, according to the Nepal Food Security Monitoring System jointly produced by the Ministry of Agricultural Development and the World Food Programme.

The report said that 10 VDCs in Sindhupalchok-Baruwa, Bhotang, Gumba, Golche, Tatopani, Listi, Fulpingkatti, Maarming, Gaati and Ghorthali-had suffered the most with food insecurity and needed immediate interventions and assistance. The food situation is based on the period from mid-March to mid-July.

In Sindhupalchok, 3,532 people were killed and 67,383 houses damaged or destroyed by the April 25 earthquake. Roughly 90 percent of the food stocks were damaged in more than 60 percent of the households, which has left some 28,655 people severely food insecure, according to the monitoring report.

Furthermore, 224 VDCs in 11 districts including 45 VDCs in Sindhupalchok, 13 VDCs in Nuwakot, 1 VDC in Rasuwa, 36 VDCs in Kavrepalanchok, 11 VDCs in Dolakha, 34 VDCs in Ramechhap, 25 VDCs in Sindhuli, 5 VDCs in Dhading, 21 VDCs in Solukhumbu, 13 VDCs in Okhaldhunga and 20 VDCs in Gorkha have been classified as highly food insecure.

The ministry said that there were an estimated 500,703 people classified as highly food insecure in these VDCs. Highly food insecure means a situation where food consumption gaps are higher than normal, and households are able to meet minimum food needs only through the accelerated depletion of livelihood assets.

Besides, another 320 VDCs in 22 districts have been classified as moderately food insecure, a situation where households are able to meet minimum food needs with traditional coping strategies, but are unable to afford some essential non-food expenditures without engaging in irreversible coping strategies.

The number of moderately food insecure VDCs by district are Sindhupalchok (24), Nuwakot (27), Rasuwa (5), Kavrepalanchok (18), Dolakha (23), Ramechhap (20), Sindhuli (29), Ramechhap (20), Dhading (11), Makwanpur (8), Solukhumbu (10), Okhaldhunga (19), Khotang (23), Taplejung (15), Sankhuwasabha (10), Gorkha (17), Bajhang (2), Jajarkot (7), Dailekh (9), Surkhet (6), Dolpa (23), Mugu (9) and Humla (5).

The report has classified the rest of the country as minimally food insecure, a situation where households can secure food and non-food needs without shifting or changing livelihood strategies. These households are capable of adjusting to small scale stresses caused by hazards, disasters, shocks, epidemics and conflicts or violence by means of existing social, natural and economic capital.  In these areas, the food security situation was stable as a result of sufficient stocks of summer crops (maize and paddy), the recent harvest of winter crops (wheat and barley), smooth functioning of markets, income from wage labour, agricultural and livestock products and non-timber forest products and remittance inflow.

Compared to the previous four-month period (mid-November 2014 to mid-March 2015) the food security situation has significantly deteriorated, especially in the Central, Eastern and Western regions, as a result of the earthquake.  The report said that the food security situation in six flood-affected VDCs in Surkhet and two hailstone-affected VDCs in Mugu has now improved due to recent crop harvests, relief support and development programmes.  The ministry has forecast that the food situation outlook for the next four-month period (mid-July to mid-November) in Ramechhap and Dolakha districts could deteriorate to severely food insecure because of likely monsoon-induced landslides and road blockades, a potential production drop in maize due to pest infestation, and limited recovery activities after the earthquake.

As a result, roughly 44,000 people (9,700 households) could be classified as severely food insecure in 20 VDCs in Ramechhap and Dolakha.