The United Nations (UN) has launched a 2.6 million U.S. dollars project in Nepal this week that will help thousands of Nepali youths find work in a bid to strengthen the ongoing peace process, a statement by the UN office in Kathmandu said Tuesday.
Through the "Jobs for Peace" project, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will help 12,500 youths from Parsa and Rautahat, two districts in the impoverished southern plains, find work.
Funded by a 2.6 million U.S. dollars grant from the UN Peace Fund for Nepal (UNPFN), the project is meant to support Nepal's key priority of creating short-term peace dividends.
"Youth unemployment and underemployment are major challenges for Nepal," the UN statement said, "Young people account for 26.5 percent of the total population but at least 50 percent are underemployed ...... Creating employment opportunities can help to reduce tensions in communities as well as meet their expectations for economic and social improvements."
To be run for two years, the project will help young men and women become self-employed by training them to run their own agricultural activity, small enterprise, or service. It will also provide microfinance loans to help them start new enterprises.
In addition, the project will work with about 30 cooperatives to strengthen their links with the private sector and markets. It is to be managed by a seven-member team based in Parsa district, some 90 km south of Nepali capital Kathmandu, that will work closely with relevant government line agencies, youth organizations, district chamber of commerce and local NGOs.
"Too many of Nepal's young people find themselves passive bystanders while Nepal's historic transition takes place," said Robert Piper, the UN Resident Coordinator for Nepal. "At minimum, Nepal's economy needs to urgently create tens of thousands more opportunities for youth to unleash their productive potential."