LocationsHow local media is advancing disaster preparedness in Nepal
When stories become a lifeline
May 8, 2026
Photo: UNDP Nepal
Nepal is one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. Earthquakes, floods, landslides, and climate-induced hazards claim lives, destroy infrastructure, and threaten development gains across the country. As climate change intensifies risks and rapid urbanization places more communities in vulnerable conditions, disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) has become not only a humanitarian priority, but a development imperative.
Policymakers, including elected representatives, hold the power to change this narrative. Yet despite the urgency, preparedness and prevention often struggle to receive sustained political attention and investment. Too often, disaster conversations begin only after lives have already been lost. Changing this pattern requires more than policies and technical solutions alone. It requires public awareness, political accountability, and strong local voices capable of turning risk into a national conversation.
In Nepal, local journalists are helping drive that change.
Journalism as a catalyst for policy change
Photo: UNDP Nepal
Media advocacy is not simply about reporting disasters. It is about holding decision-makers accountable before the next disaster hits, highlighting preparedness gaps, amplifying community voices, and pushing DRRM to the forefront of development conversations. When journalists investigate, communities speak, and policymakers listen, policy can change.
This was demonstrated powerfully through a series of media advocacy events in April-May in Birendranagar (Karnali Province), Nepalgunj (Lumbini Province), and Dhangadhi (Sudurpashchim Province). Supported through UNDP’s efforts to strengthen disaster resilience and community engagement, the initiative aimed to place disaster preparedness firmly within public and policy discourse.
Photo: UNDP Nepal
At the centre of this were six local journalists who shared compelling photo stories from their own communities. Their reporting documented both the critical gaps in disaster preparedness and the commendable efforts already underway at provincial and local levels to strengthen resilience. .
“When communities tell their own stories through the media, preparedness becomes impossible to ignore. These stories are not just about disasters—they are about people, accountability, and the choices we make before a crisis happens,” reflected one participating journalist during the advocacy dialogue.
From Stories to Action
Photo: UNDP Nepal
The photo story sessions sparked in-depth discussions with elected representatives and provincial and local government officials. Local journalists, civil society representatives, first responders, disaster volunteers, and community members—including women, youth, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQI+ individuals—voiced their concerns directly to decision-makers, In several cases, policymakers publicly acknowledged critical preparedness gaps and committed to strengthening DRRM measures within their jurisdictions.
Photo: UNDP Nepal
The initiative demonstrated the powerful role that media can play in resilience-building—not only as a channel for information, but as a driver of accountability and action.
A Call to Action: Keep the Conversation Going
Importantly, the advocacy did not end with the events themselves. Journalists continued the momentum by publishing opinion pieces in newspapers and digital media platforms across the country, calling stronger coordination, greater public awareness, and increased investment in disaster preparedness and response. Through these efforts, the conversation expanded beyond conference halls and into the broader public sphere.
Photo: UNDP Nepal
The work of these journalists reflects what meaningful media engagement can achieve, but it must be sustained.
For UNDP, supporting resilience means strengthening not only systems and infrastructure, but also the civic spaces and local capacities that enable communities to advocate for their own safety and future. Media engagement and community-centred storytelling are therefore not peripheral to DRRM—they are central to building a culture of preparedness.
Preparedness begins long before disaster strikes—and often, it begins with a story that refuses to be ignored.
Disasters do not wait. Neither should we.
Photo: UNDP Nepal
This initiative is supported by ECHO-funded Strengthening Urban Preparedness, Earthquake Preparedness and Response in the Western Region of Nepal (SUPER‑II) Project, implemented by a UNDP-led consortium with UNICEF, UN Women, and Handicap International.
