$23 Million from World Bank-financed Youth Employment Project Reallocated to Help Unemployed Poor

KATHMANDU — The World Bank has reallocated $23 million of the $120 million in the Youth Employment Transformation Initiative (YETI) project to scale up direct support to unemployed poor impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The financing will help about 64,000 unemployed individuals, especially those who lost employment during the COVID-19 pandemic, receive temporary employment through the Prime Minister Employment Program.

“We have been working closely with the Government of Nepal to support its COVID-19 emergency response and prepare for a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery,” said Faris Hadad-Zervos, World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. “With the reallocated funds, the project will provide temporary employment for many poor people who lost employment or could not find work during the pandemic.”

This reallocation of these project funds to provide temporary employment follows global good practice where existing social protection programs are expanded to cover a larger group of beneficiaries during a crisis. This complements the YETI project’s ongoing efforts to improve employment services and labor market outcomes, especially for youth.

These funds were made available by activating the Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC) of the YETI project. CERCs allow funds to be reallocated from existing projects to address emergency response needs.