Lifesaving UNICEF Supplies Reach Nepal to Help 1.7 Million Children Severely Affected by the Earthquake
NEW YORK (April 30, 2015) – Over the past 48 hours, UNICEF has delivered 29 metric tons of humanitarian supplies to Nepal—including tents and tarps, water purification tablets, and first aid and hygiene kits—as part of ongoing efforts to reach at least 1.7 million children living in areas hardest hit by the earthquake. Over the coming days, UNICEF is planning additional aid items to arrive in Kathmandu.
“Children's lives in Nepal have been turned upside down,” said Raju Shreshta, Chief Logistics for UNICEF Supply Division in Copenhagen. “Thousands are dead, houses are destroyed. My family and friends in Nepal are caught up in the disaster, too. There is a lack of medical supplies and beds in the hospitals. As a priority, UNICEF has shipped tents to Nepal that can serve as medical clinics and that can also provide shelter for children in urgent need. We are also sending water purification tablets to make sure children and their families have access to safe drinking water.”
Within hours of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastating parts of Nepal, UNICEF had delivered water purification tablets, oral rehydration salts and hygiene kits to affected communities, thanks to 30 metric tons of prepositioned emergency stocks kept ready in UNICEF warehouses in Nepal. These will help stave off waterborne diseases for families who have little access to safe water as a result of the earthquake. More than a dozen informal settlements have sprung up around the Kathmandu, and UNICEF and local partners are trucking safe water and hygiene supplies to all of them.
UNICEF and partners are working with the Government of Nepal to ensure humanitarian supplies are delivered and distributed to affected communities as quickly as possible through a combination of shipping supplies on commercial and charter airlines. Humanitarian agencies are contending with significant delays due to technical restrictions on maximum landing weight and the use of wide-body aircrafts. The congestion at Kathmandu airport, due to constrained warehousing capacity and limited means to distribute incoming cargo, has compounded logistical challenges.
UNICEF has launched a $50 million appeal to support its humanitarian response to the earthquake in Nepal over the next 90 days.
How to help: For more information or to make a tax-deductible contribution to UNICEF’s relief efforts, please contact the U.S. Fund for UNICEF:Website: www.unicefusa.org/nepalToll free: 1-800-FOR-KIDS
Text: Text "Nepal" to 864233 (UNICEF) to make a $10 donation
Mail: 125 Maiden Lane, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10038As with any emergency, in the event that donations exceed anticipated needs, the U.S. Fund will redirect any excess funds to children in greatest need.
Find us on Twitter: @unicefusa; join us on Facebook: UNICEF-USA
Access broadcast quality b-roll and photos: http://uni.cf/1HH6SbO. Interviews are available with UNICEF staff working on the emergency response.
About UNICEF
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, by providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEF's work through fundraising, advocacy and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when no children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. For more information, visit www.unicefusa.org.
For further information and interview requests, please contact:
Andrea Sioris, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 212-880-9136, asioris@unicefusa,org
Susannah Masur, U.S. Fund for UNICEF, 212-880-9146, smasur@unicefusa.org