Want to Help Nepal Recover From the Quake? Cancel Its Debt

Nepal, one of the world’s least developed countries, is saddled with US$3.8 billion in debt. The nation’s recovery from the earthquake may require forgiveness of some of this debt.

A woman walks past debris-strewn historical heritage site Durbar Square in Kathmandu on May 3, following a magnitude-7.8 earthquake, which struck the Himalayan nation on April 25. The death toll in Nepal from the devastating earthquake has risen to 7,040, an official from the National Emergency Operations Centre said on May 3. Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images

The death toll from Nepal’s earthquake has now passed 7,000, and there is no telling how much further it will climb. The government and international aid agencies are scrambling to cope with the aftermath of a magnitude-7.8 quake that struck this South Asian nation on April 25.

Severe aftershocks have the land-locked country of 27.8 million people on edge, with scores missing and countless others feared dead, buried under the rubble.

With its epicenter in Lamjung District, located northwest of the capital, Kathmandu, and south of the China border, the massive quake rippled out over the entire country, causing several avalanches in the Himalayas—including one that killed over 15 people and injured dozens more at the base camp of Mount Everest, 200 kilometers (124.27 miles) away.

Questions abound as to how this impoverished nation will recover from the disaster.