Aid and Recovery in Post-Earthquake Nepal Independent Impacts and Recovery Monitoring Phase 4 Quantitative Survey: April 2017 F | lhis report provides findings from the fourth in a I series of large-scale surveys, conducted in April .X. 2017, two years on from the devastating earth- quakes that hit Nepal. The report is part of the Inde- pendent Impacts and Recovery Monitoring for Account- ability in Post-Earthquake Nepal (IRM) project. Using both quantitative surveying and in-depth qualitative fieldwork, IRM involves revisiting areas and people at roughly six month intervals to assess current conditions and how they are changing. The fourth survey involved face-to-face interviews with 4,854 household respond- ents in 11 districts. Stratified random sampling ensures that those interviewed are representative of the wider population in affected areas. Throughout the report, fourth round survey data (IRM-4) are compared with data collected in June 2015 (IRM-1), February-March 2016 (IRM-2) and September 2016 (IRM-3) to allow for an assessment of changes over time. Shelter There has been limited progress since the earthquakes in people moving from temporary shelters back into their homes. Almost three-quarters of people in earthquake-affected areas now live in their own homes compared to 60% in the immediate aftermath of the earthquakes. However, 62% of people in the severely hit districts were still living in temporary shelters as of April 2017. In Sindhupalchowk district, 84% of people are still in shelters. Across all areas, almost half of those whose house was completely destroyed continue to live in temporary shelters. People in more remote areas are far more likely to remain in shelters than others. Those whose house was badly damaged or destroyed in lesser affected districts have been much more likely than those in severely hit districts to move back home. Marginalized groups—those with a low income, no education, the disabled, lower castes and Janajatis and widows—are far more likely than others to remain in temporary shelters. There has been a decline in the number of people in shelters that use tarpaulins or that are primarily built from bamboo. A relatively higher share of people were able to completely repair their shelters to be ready for the winter in IRM-4 (14%) compared to IRM-3 (6%) or IRM-2 (3%). But people in severely hit districts, with a low income or from a low caste group, as well as the disabled, were less likely to have their shelters ready for the season. Fifty-six percent of those whose house suffered complete destruction or major damage reported that they had done nothing to rebuild. Among those whose house was completely destroyed or suffered major damage, 62% in severely hit, 55% in crisis hit, 42% in hit with heavy losses and 34% in hit districts have done nothing to rebuild. People of low caste or low income are less likely than others to have started rebuilding. Those whose income has declined since the earthquake are far less likely to have started rebuilding. Of those who have started to rebuild, the largest share (21%) began after the first monsoon before the first winter after the earthquakes. Not having enough money is the main reason (93%) for people not rebuilding, followed by waiting for government grants. Livelihoods, Food and Services Over time, there has been a large drop in the num- ber of people generating income through farming. The proportion of people farming their own land has dropped from 68% in IRM-1 to 53% in IRM-3 and IRM-4. Many more people are now generating income through their own business or daily wage work than in the past and remittances have become more important. Most people continue to see im- provements in their income sources but the propor- tion seeing improvements in the past three months has declined for most sources compared to IRM-3. Daily wage work, business income and remittances are the exceptions. By and large, incomes appear to have recovered. Around one-third of people say their current income is lower than before the earthquakes but a significant proportion (27%) also say it has increased. 1