200,000 People in Nepal Received Clean Water: UNICEF

Jakarta, May 12 (Antara) -- Over 200,000 people in Nepal have received clean water and nearly 25,000 people were supported with sanitation and hygiene facilities, two weeks after the country was hit by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake, a UNICEF representative said. In his statement from Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, Representative of UNICEF Indonesia Gunilla Olsson stated that the organization had been able to start a major emergency operation in Nepal due to donations from around the world, including Indonesia. "Thanks to the generous donations of individuals, companies and governments from around the world, including Indonesia, (we were able to start the emergency operation). The clean water supply can reduce the risk of waterborne diseases among children," he added. Olsson pointed out that UNICEF and its partners have established 38 child-friendly spaces for displaced communities in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, serving more than 3,300 earthquake-affected children. UNICEF also distributed tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, medical kits, blankets, insecticide-treated bed nets, plastics buckets, and school-in-a-box learning material to its partners on the ground. So far, the powerful earthquake, which hit east of capital city Kathmandu on April 25, has been found to have caused 7,885 casualties, and as many as 17,803 others across the country suffered injuries. These numbers will apparently increase as reports of more districts being affected are received. Therefore, UNICEF has urged the Indonesian public to continue to donate and allow the organization and its partners to expand its relief operations and reach the children who have yet to benefit from the joint humanitarian efforts. "Some 1.7 million children were affected directly. Many of them lost their family members, and now, in the aftermath of the catastrophe, they face the risk of catching diseases and suffering even more," Olsson explained. Earlier, Deputy Representative of UNICEF in Nepal Rownak Khan had warned that there were 15,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition who required therapeutic feeding. "In a country where just over 40 percent of the children are stunted, fear for their nutrition is rising," he remarked. There is also an urgent need for children in the 12 worst-hit districts to return to their normal routine by setting up child-friendly spaces, opening schools, and providing access to basic services such as health and water. UNICEF has launched an appeal for US$50 million to support its humanitarian aid to Nepal over the next 90 days.