Effectiveness of Socio-Technical Assistance (STA) Program for Vulnerable Beneficiaries: Evidence from Nepal’s Post-Earthquake Reconstruction

Namita Poudel Bhusal, Keshab Bhattarai and Fiona Walkley
Additional contact information
Namita Poudel Bhusal: Business School, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK
Fiona Walkley: Business School, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-25

Abstract: This research study assesses the effectiveness of the Socio-Technical Assistance (STA) program when combined with owner-driven housing reconstruction on rural private housing recovery after Nepal’s 2015 earthquake, particularly regarding vulnerable households. Through a quantitative, 304-question survey, the study reveals that 96% of households credited STA activities for accelerating reconstruction, with 95% acknowledging its significance and 78% emphasizing its necessity. Notably, 89% expressed dependency on STA for reconstruction, and 85% believed it heightened disaster risk reduction awareness. In conclusion, the study establishes that STA activities significantly contributed to the successful reconstruction of houses for vulnerable households, addressing such critical aspects as financial support, technical assistance, housing accessibility, earthquake-resilient construction, improved livelihoods, and safety enhancements. The field study presents crucial recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of Socio-Technical Assistance (STA) activities in post-earthquake, rural private housing reconstruction. Emphasizing the need for tailored, demand-driven interventions, the study cautions against relying solely on an owner-driven reconstruction model, challenging the one-size-fits-all strategy. The study proposes integrating tailored interventions into overarching recovery strategies, advocating for coordinated efforts to enhance disaster risk reduction (DRR) awareness and to cultivate resilient communities in particularly vulnerable households as aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11, which focuses on sustainable cities and communities. This research aims to enhance the literature on post-disaster humanitarian shelter and settlement by emphasizing the significance of inclusive and comprehensive approaches to recovery and reconstruction.

Keywords: effectiveness; Gorkha earthquake 2015; owner-driven reconstruction; private housing reconstruction; vulnerable earthquake beneficiaries; socio-technical assistance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6284/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/15/6284/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:15:p:6284-:d:1440899

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().