Nepal’s distress

Government failures hurt the response effort

A high-magnitude earthquake hitting a country as poor as Nepal is probably one of the greatest human catastrophes the Earth can produce.

The death toll exceeds 6,200, with authorities cautioning that the loss of life and extent of destruction outside the capital, Kathmandu, have yet to be measured. Another major problem is the classic one, that countries most in need of assistance are often the hardest to help, in no small part because they are badly governed and organized.

One of the difficulties that relief agencies cite in Nepal is the lack of centralized, coordinated direction of disaster response. With a population of 27 million, Nepal is landlocked and has borders with relatively isolated parts of China (Tibet) and India. About 76 percent of its workers are engaged in agriculture and 81 percent are Hindus.

Americans who have heard of Nepal know that it is the home of Gurkha troops and Mount Everest, at 29,029 feet the highest mountain on Earth.

Nepal’s government can be kindly described as disorganized and corrupt. It was a monarchy until 2008, when it became a federal democratic republic. Between 1996 and 2006 there was a civil war between the royal government and a Maoist Communist Party that was estimated to have killed 12,000. The prime minister is Sushil Koirala, 75, who has been in office since last year and is reportedly diagnosed with lung cancer.

American relief agencies are already involved in search-and-rescue efforts in Nepal. The United Nations has asked for $415 million in emergency aid. The United States government has so far pledged $10 million, but America can do better than that.