Earthquake-resilient schools in Nepal

This brief shares learning from a project supporting the construction of earthquake-resilient schools in Nepal, which involved rebuilding smartly to promote inclusion and community resilience. The project included real-time, web-based progress monitoring and used locally available building materials. It enabled more students to access the new, better-equipped schools and promoted gender and social inclusion.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, the Government of Nepal established the National Reconstruction Authority to oversee and fast-track reconstruction work. The government sought development partner support for this, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved the Earthquake Emergency Assistance Project with cofinancing from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). However, out of this tragedy came an opportunity to rebuild better. The challenge was how to manage a complex, large-scale project across multiple construction sites happening at the same time, including in difficult-to-reach areas, on terrain that made it all but impossible to source typical disaster-resilient construction materials.