Italy allocates 250,000 euros for Nepal, three nationals remain unaccounted for

To the reinforced consular presence in Kathmandu — which we reported on August 28 — a financial intervention has now been added. On August 31, Deputy Foreign Minister Edmondo Cirielli, after consulting Minister Antonio Tajani, authorized humanitarian aid worth 250,000 euros for the Nepalese population affected by the August 26 floods, according to the statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The sum is divided between two organizations. UNICEF receives the share earmarked for immediate assistance to children and vulnerable families; the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies receives the share for the emergency phase and early recovery, covering health, water and hygiene, psychosocial support and family links restoration — this last activity serving to reconnect families separated by the evacuation. The same measure contains a second, larger decision: the refinancing for one million euros of the bilateral emergency fund managed by UNICEF, an instrument not tied to the single event but which remains available for subsequent needs.

Comparing this with the European intervention helps put the Italian figure in context. The European Union had announced two million euros in immediate humanitarian aid for Nepal, as reported by Agenzia Nova: Rome’s bilateral contribution is thus worth one-eighth of the EU allocation, to which Italy in turn contributes as a member state. None of the sources available today indicate disbursement timelines or the internal breakdown between the two recipient bodies: on these two points the picture remains incomplete.

On the consular front, however, the situation has not moved. Three nationals remain unaccounted for, and the Farnesina’s Crisis Unit team that arrived in Kathmandu — composed of personnel transferred from the embassy in New Delhi — is also working to gather information on them, in addition to assisting Italians present in the country. Asked about the matter, Minister Tajani stated: “We hope they can be found safe and sound” (La Verità). The Farnesina note reported by La Discussione confirms that the search is still underway.

The two decisions announced yesterday belong to two distinct registers, and it is useful to keep them separate. The 250,000-euro package is development cooperation in an emergency phase: it passes through international organizations and concerns the Nepalese population. The consular team’s activity concerns Italian citizens and is a protection function, not a rescue operation: no Italian rescuers are reported to have been sent to the country.

Two elements therefore remain to be verified in the coming days: the outcome of the search for the three unaccounted-for individuals and the concrete activation of the funds, which in Italian cooperation goes through the signing of agreements with the recipient bodies. The bilateral fund, refinanced with one million euros, is the instrument that could be used for any subsequent interventions without new political authorizations.