UN and partners launch $415 million appeal to aid quake-stricken Nepal by UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs, agencies 5:28pm 30th Apr, 2015   26 May 2015    The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says, as of Monday, it has received only $92.4 million of the $423 million it requested in a “flash appeal” for Nepal on 11 May.    The United Nations and humanitarian partners need to provide emergency shelter to more than 350,000 families whose homes were destroyed. Some 1.9 million people are in need of immediate food assistance and 1.5 million people require sanitation and hygiene support. On-going medical care is needed for 2 million people, while effective surveillance and response measures must be deployed to mitigate any possible disease outbreaks. Providing immediate learning spaces and support to some 1.1 million children is an immediate protective and psycho-social measure for children and will allow families to return to livelihood activities.    With monsoon season just two/three weeks away, the race is on to provide hundreds of thousands of families with roofs over their heads. Food and other items and services are also urgently required to ensure the survival of people affected by the back-to-back quakes.    Jamie McGoldrick, Humanitarian Coordinator in Nepal said, “We don’t have much time left to achieve what we set out to accomplish,” said Mr. McGoldrick. “But with the right support at the right time, we can assist people who desperately need our help, even those in the remote hard-to-reach places”.    Many Nepalese in remote regions are likely to face increasing shortages of supplies such as rice, tarpaulins and medicine, the government and aid agencies have warned.    Lives are at risk as funding has been reduced “to a trickle,” while the monsoon rains are expected within weeks, making relief efforts even more challenging in a country where many villages are accessible only by foot, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.    Without more funding, IOM said its contractors would have to stop clearing rubble within 10 days, and medical assistance to people with debilitating injuries will cease. Supplies to build temporary shelters will also be severely curtailed, leaving tens of thousands of families with only tarps and plastic sheets to protect them from the monsoon and the following winter.    “Our top priority now is to speed up the process of providing safe shelters for the mass of displaced families as the monsoon is almost here, but there is huge shortage of funds,” he told IRIN.    Providing access to education and building temporary shelters are the main priorities for Plan International, according to Mike Bruce, a regional spokesperson.    But long-term planning is also important, which will need continued funding, he emphasised.    “Schools need not just to reopen, but to be safe,” said Bruce. “If we don''t take this opportunity to build back better, then we take the risk of future disasters.”    That risk was underscored when a second quake hit Nepal on 12 May, killing 65 more people and wreaking further destruction.    More than half a million houses were destroyed and 269,190 damaged either by the earthquakes or the numerous aftershocks, OCHA said in its latest report, published on Monday.    Almost a million children will be unable to return to school when lessons resume on Monday because their classrooms have been destroyed or badly damaged, according to OCHA. http://www.unocha.org/nepal    The United Nations has launched a $415 million emergency appeal to provide vital relief to people affected by the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the densely populated Kathmandu Valley in Nepal on Saturday, killing at least 7,000, injuring at least 14,000 more.    The joint action plan aims to support Government efforts in addressing the most critical needs of millions of people in need of shelter, water and sanitation, emergency health, food, and protection for the next three months, after the tremor and many powerful aftershocks destroyed around 70,000 houses and damaged another 530,000 across 39 of Nepal’s 75 districts.    “The timing of the intervention remains of the essence,” said UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nepal Jamie McGoldrick in a press release issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).    “Although I am heartened and encouraged by the progress of the response to date, efforts need to be maintained and stepped up to ensure vital assistance reaches all the affected, especially those in the remote areas.”    The Flash Appeal reflects both the scale of the needs and the significant logistical challenges linked to providing an effective large-scale humanitarian response in hard-to-reach, mountainous areas.    “As the monsoon season approaches, this is likely to become an added logistical challenge in providing humanitarian assistance,” said Mr. McGoldrick. “Funding is needed immediately to continue the relief operations.”    Under the Flash Appeal, which was jump-started with $15 million made available through the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), partners will provide emergency shelter to 500,000 people who remain in the open, braving the damp and cold weather. Emergency health services and medical supplies and facilities, and safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are also urgently needed for up to 4.2 million people.    As many as 1.4 million people will benefit from food assistance, including 750,000 in hard-to-reach areas. Some 2.1 million children and 525,000 women will benefit from protection assistance.    The Government of Nepal, along with humanitarian and international partners, launched a massive relief operation in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, with search and rescue and medical teams working tirelessly to find survivors and providing urgent medical care.    Safe drinking water is also being provided to quake victims and food was dispatched for immediate distribution.    http://www.unocha.org/nepal http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50725#.VUFaxPCpWzk    01 May 2015    UN Emergency Relief Coordinator and EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid call on the international community to strengthen support to quake-affected Nepalese    The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, and the European Union’s Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, appealed to the international community today to continue its support to the millions of Nepalese affected by Saturday’s earthquake, as people are struggling to rebuild their lives.    The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on 25 April at 11:56 a.m. local time creating large-scale damage across the country, including in the densely-populated Kathmandu Valley. Millions of people were affected and require urgent, life-saving assistance. Many of them remain in hard-to-reach, poor areas. Local communities have been working around the clock to aid each other. In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the Government and humanitarian and international organisations launched a massive relief operation.    “I am encouraged by the generosity and solidarity shown to date,” said Ms. Amos, “but I am also conscious of the urgent need to provide emergency shelter and basic goods and services to people affected as the monsoon season rapidly approaches. So many people have lost everything”.    The United Nations and partners developed a joint humanitarian response plan aimed at supporting Government-led efforts in addressing the most critical shelter, water and sanitation, emergency health, food, and protection needs of millions of those affected in the next three months.    “The challenge ahead of us is tremendous,” commented Mr. Stylianides. “The European Union will continue to provide whatever support we can to assist the country to get back on track towards recovery and development”.    To date, some US$53 million has been provided in support of the ongoing response; this includes bilateral support and funding received against the $415-million Flash Appeal. Rapidly deteriorating weather conditions, as the monsoon season approaches, is likely to become an added logistical challenge to the provision of humanitarian assistance. Funding is needed immediately to continue the relief operations.    http://www.unocha.org/nepal    April 30, 2015 – Kathmandu / Geneva    Red Cross calls for greater urgency in relief efforts for Nepal earthquake survivors.    The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is extremely concerned about the welfare of hundreds of thousands of people affected by the earthquake that struck Nepal on 25 April.    In many areas outside the Kathmandu Valley, the condition of many people remains unknown. Six Red Cross assessment teams are reporting that some towns and villages in the worst-affected districts close to the epicentre have suffered almost total devastation. Local residents are in a desperate situation.    “One of our teams that returned from Chautara in Sindupalchowk district reported that 90 per cent of the homes are destroyed. The hospital has collapsed,” said Jagan Chapagain, Director of Asia Pacific with the IFRC. “We can expect the situation to be the same if not worse in many other places where aid has not yet been delivered.”    There are estimates that up to 40,000 homes in Sindupalchowk alone have been destroyed. (Initial estimates indicate over 600,000 homes across Nepal have been damaged or destroyed)    With so many families in need, the Nepal Red Cross Society has almost exhausted its relief stocks which were sufficient for 19,000 families. Every day, Red Cross volunteers have been distributing tarpaulins in affected areas, to shelter thousands of people who remain too afraid to return home because of aftershocks and damage to their homes.    The priority now is to move relief efforts to more remote areas.    “We know what the needs are, and Nepal Red Cross volunteers are ready in every district to distribute relief. The challenge now is bringing sufficient quantities into the country,” explained Mr Chapagain.    The amount of emergency aid needed for such a large-scale disaster outstrips the capacity of Nepal.    IFRC teams on the ground remain focused on reaching people with emergency shelter, together with blankets, cooking sets, water containers and other basic household items.    The Red Cross is also addressing curative and preventive health needs of communities by setting up basic health care units – designed for 30,000 people for four months - in areas where health facilities have collapsed.    “Many people are coming to Nepal Red Cross health posts with untreated wounds and our health teams are seeing an increase in cases of flu and respiratory problems, particularly amongst the young and elderly,” said Mr Chapagain. “Another priority is to set up water supply points and improve sanitation in areas where there a lot of displaced people camped out in the open. We need to stem the risk of disease where families have no regular access to clean water.”    http://reliefweb.int/report/nepal/red-cross-calls-greater-urgency-relief-efforts-nepal-earthquake-survivors    28 April, 2015    Eight million people have been impacted by a massive earthquake in Nepal - more than a quarter of the country"s population.    International aid has started arriving but there is a huge need - with at least 1.4 million requiring immediate food aid.    The 7.8-magnitude quake hit Nepal on Saturday destroying buildings in Kathmandu and severely affecting rural areas across the region.    Water, food and electricity are in short supply and there are fears of outbreaks of disease.    "According to initial estimations and based on the latest earthquake intensity mapping, eight million people in 39 districts have been affected, of which over two million people live in the 11 severely affected districts," said the most recent report from the UN Office of the Resident Co-ordinator.    The situation is critical in the remote rural regions near the epicentre of the quake.    "In the rural areas, 90% of the people have been affected by this calamity," a local district official, Surya Mohan Adhikari, told AP news agency. "They have lost their homes and livestock, they have no way of getting food."    "It is very difficult to reach them," he added. "They are cut off by landslides on the mountain roads, and the wind and rain is making it difficult for helicopters to land."    The Nepal government has pleaded for overseas aid - everything from blankets and helicopters to doctors and drivers.    "We urge foreign countries to give us special relief materials and medical teams. We are really desperate for more foreign expertise to pull through this crisis," said Chief Secretary Leela Mani Paudel.    Kathmandu, April 27, 2015    Nepal has appealed to the international community to urgently send aid to help it cope with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake that has killed thousands of people.    "We have launched a massive rescue and rehabilitation action plan and lots needs to be done," said Information and Broadcasting Minister Minendra Rijal. "Our country is in a moment of crisis and we will require tremendous support and aid," he told Indian television.    As fears of a humanitarian disaster grew, hundreds of thousands of people braved freezing temperatures to sleep on pavements, in parks or in fields, too afraid to return to homes damaged by a 7.9 magnitude quake which struck at midday on Saturday.    Hospitals across the impoverished nation of 28 million people were struggling to cope with the dead and injured from Nepal"s worst quake in 81 years.    Kathmandu"s Bir Hospital had so far received 350 patients with serious injuries, and most of them died, said paramedic Dinesh Chaudhary. He said the hospital was running out of supplies.    The earthquake, centred 50 miles (80 km) east of the second city, Pokhara, was all the more destructive for being shallow. Areas of Kathmandu were reduced to rubble, and rescue operations had still not begun in some remote areas.    Aid worker Wes Pryor was in Kathmandu when the earthquake struck, but said he had heard of more destruction elsewhere.    "There"s reports of landslides blocking roads, whole parts of neighbourhoods being pushed down the valley and very significant casualties in those areas," he said.    "There are reports coming in from further west in Nepal, from Pokhara, where the epicentre of the earthquake was nearby, that there are villages there that are not there any more."    In remote rural areas, highways have been blocked by landslides, and many villages and communities are without water and electricity, surviving on salvaged food and with no outside help.    Nepal"s Government said that 39 of Nepal"s 75 districts were affected, mainly in western and central regions, including the country"s two largest cities, Kathmandu and Pokhara.    Some 8 million people in 39 districts have been affected, of which over 2 million people live in the 11 severely affected districts.    Priority needs include food, water, shelter and medication. Over 1.4 million people are in need of food assistance.    The impact on agriculture based livelihoods and food security is expected to be extremely high.    Emergency workers have fanned out across the Himalayan nation to rescue those trapped under collapsed homes, buildings and other debris.    Neighbouring India, where 44 people were reported killed in the quake and its aftershocks, was first to respond to calls for help, sending military aircraft with medical equipment and relief teams.    The Indian embassy in Nepal said 285 members of the National Disaster Response Force had been sent to assist the Nepalese army in the rescue effort.    Humanitarian Aid groups readied staff to go to Nepal with supplies to provide clean water, sanitation and emergency food.    “We are extremely concerned about the fate of communities in towns and villages in rural areas closer to the epicenter,” said Jagan Chapagain, the IFRC’s Director for Asia Pacific. “Access roads have been damaged or blocked by landslides and communications lines are down, preventing us from reaching local Red Cross branches to get accurate information. We anticipate that there will be considerable destruction and loss of life.”    “People will need considerable support including food, water, medical care and emergency shelter.”    April 26th, 2015    Second night in the open. (Nepali Times)    Hundreds of thousands of people in Central Nepal prepared to spend the second night out in the open as serious aftershocks continued to rattle people and forcing them out of their homes.    In Kathmandu, many open areas were packed with families afraid of going home. They used any open spaces available, including school playgrounds, courtyards and bahals of inner city areas. Some people even used traffic islands.    “In our locality, people are frightened as their houses are old and already weakened by yesterday’s earthquake,” said Sanu Maharjan, a volunteer mobilised by Makhan Youth Club. “More houses are collapsing because of the aftershocks, it is scary,” he said.    Sunday’s aftershock razed houses that were damaged on Saturday’s quake and killed some people in districts surrounding Kathmandu.    At Kathmandu’s Bir Hospital the corridors are littered with unidentified bodies, and the police was handing over identified ones to next-of-kin.    Thousands of army and Nepali police personnel have been deployed to rescue earthquake victims.    In the Patan Darbar Square which has also been devastated by the earthquake, families sat calmly in shelters inside schools and open spaces. Community organizer, Dilendra Raj Shrestha told us there was no presence of government, not even officials from the municipality had visited.    “We urgently need tents and medicines,” he said, recalling the hardships of Saturday night when about 400 people slept in the open and were drenched by rain at 1AM. “Please tell the world. We need help.”    26 April 2015    The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that causalities are expected to rise as search and rescue efforts continue and the total number of people affected by the disaster is determined.    “Time is of the essence for the search and rescue operations,” said Under-Secretary-General of Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, “The actions of the Government of Nepal and local communities themselves have already saved many lives. Teams from India, Pakistan, China and Israel have started work, and more are on their way from the US, the UK, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the European Union and elsewhere.”    The OCHA situation report says that 35 of the 75 districts in Nepal are reported to be affected by the earthquake.    Ms. Amos said UN agencies were working with humanitarian partners in Nepal, supporting the Government and other partners. The World Food Programme (WFP) was providing food items, The UN Children"s Fund (UNICEF) was sending tents and healthcare supplies and the World Health Organization (WHO) had distributed medical supplies to cover the immediate needs of 40,000 people.    She added that a UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team was on the ground helping to coordinate response effort, adding that the Organization would continue supporting the people of Nepal in the weeks and months ahead. People affected by the earthquake are in urgent need of food, water, emergency shelter and healthcare, with many having slept in the open in makeshift tents for two nights.    The UN Children"s Fund (UNICEF) said the earthquake, as well as nearly 60 aftershocks that followed, caused “vast devastation across much of the country,” adding that at least 940,000 children live in areas severely affected by the quake and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.    In a report UNICEF stressed the heightened vulnerability of children when access to safe water and sanitation was limited and said some children may have become separated from their families.    The report said staff and supplies were mobilizing to meet urgent humanitarian needs, with a focus on water and sanitation, nutrition, education and child protection. An initial two cargo flights, with a combined 120 tonnes of humanitarian supplies including medical and hospital supplies, tents and blankets, were being readied for urgent airlift to Kathmandu.    Martin Sajdik, the President of the Economic and Social Council, expressed his sadness at the loss of life and sent his condolences to all those affected by the disaster.    “The full scope of the disaster is not yet known but we all know that its cost goes well beyond the damage to property and has immense economic and social impact on Nepali society,” he said. “As a “least developed country”, Nepal can ill afford these setbacks on its path to sustainable development.”    26 April 2015    One Million Children in Urgent Need of Aid after Nepal Earthquake. (AP)    U.N. spokeswoman Orla Fagan, who is heading to Nepal, said preventing the spread of disease is one of the most important tasks facing aid workers who are arriving.    "There are 14 international medical teams on the way and 15 international search-and-rescue teams on the way," she said. "They need to get in as soon as possible."    Diarrhea was already a growing problem and a measles outbreak was feared, with vaccines in short supply, the U.N. warned in a report.    The need is great: UNICEF said 1 million children in areas affected by the earthquake are in "urgent need" of humanitarian assistance. UNICEF staff reported dwindling water supplies, power shortages and communications breakdowns.    Save the Children has emergency kits pre-positioned in three warehouses in Nepal and plans to distribute bedding, buckets and other basic supplies to families as quickly as possible.    U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said in a statement that the full picture of destruction and suffering would only appear worse "as humanitarian workers reach the more remote areas near the epicenter of the earthquake." She said "entire areas have been flattened".    http://reliefweb.int/disaster/eq-2015-000048-npl http://www.trust.org/spotlight/Nepal-earthquake/ http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/wfp-rushes-food-and-relief-supplies-nepal-earthquake-survivors http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nepal.html http://www.ifrc.org/en/news-and-media/news-stories/asia-pacific/nepal/ http://www.mercycorps.org/articles/nepal/quick-facts-what-you-need-know-about-nepal-earthquake http://www.wvi.org/nepal-earthquake/donate-now http://www.care-international.org/news/press-releases/emergency-response/nepal-care-to-distribute-shelter-and-hygiene-kits-to-survivors-in-remote-areas.aspx http://www.nytimes.com/live/earthquake-katmandu-nepal-updates/ http://www.savethechildren.net/article/tens-thousands-children-nepal-face-third-night-sleeping-outdoors-cold-and-rain http://plan-international.org/about-plan/resources/blogs/nepal-earthquake-these-children-are-survivors-not-victims http://www.oxfam.org/en/emergencies/nepal-earthquake http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/nepal-earthquake-toll-could-reach-10-000-government-on-war-footing-pm-sushil-koirala-758761 Visit the related web page
	Next (more recent) news item
	Next (older) news item