DEVELOPMENT ISSUES

Economy

• Unemployment rate of 42%
• 76% of all people employed in agricultural sector (6% industry, 18% service)
• 31% of all people live below the poverty line (less than 1 US Dollar a day)

Health/Sanitation

• 27000 children die of diarrhea every year
• 1500 (out of 100,000) pregnant women die during childbirth every year
• Only 64 (out of 75) districts have hospital facilities
• 65 (out of 1000) infants die during birth
• There is only one national hospital specialized on children
• There is only one child specialist for every 104066 children
• 47 (out of 100) children are malnourished
• Only 52% of the total population has toilets in their houses

Education

• The illiteracy rate is 34% for men and 56% for women
• 80 (out of 100) children are admitted to school, but only 51 complete primary level
• 86 boys and 74 girls (out of respectively 100) are enrolled in primary level

Child labor

• 2.6 million children are engaged in different sectors of child labor
• Girls aged 10-14 work double as compared to boys in the same age group
• At least 40,000 children are bonded laborers
• 5000 children work and live on the streets

Civil Conflict (1996-2006)

• More than 2000 children have been orphaned and 8000 have been displaced due to the armed conflict between government and (CPN) Maoists
• More than 274 children have died in the course of the conflict

Environment

• deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel)
• contaminated water (human and animal wastes, agricultural runoffs and industrial effluents)
• wildlife conservation
• vehicular emissions