The UN is supporting efforts to manage the large-scale influx of Nepalese returnee workers through a project run by the International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, Nepal receives about US$8.79 billion from its citizen working abroad, making it one of the most remittance-dependent countries in the world.

However, since the worldwide economic slowdown as a result of the pandemic, work for many of them has dried up and thousands have to be repatriated back home.

The programme was already in place before the pandemic, developing enterprises in rural areas of Nepal, is now providing a range of services for migrants, forced to return home.

These include repatriation for workers stranded overseas, matching job-seekers with available jobs within the country, helping them to find other income-generating activities, and providing technical and vocational training.

In addition, IFAD, working with the UN migration agency IOM, and other partners, is assisting local government as they design policies to reintegrate returning migrants into the local workforce, and programmes that ensure easy access to start-up funds. (Source: UN News)