Children
crammed into public shelters are facing an increased
risk of illness as families struggle to get clean water for
drinking and washing in the aftermath of the devastating
flash floods, Save the Children said.
On the road from
the capital Kathmandu to Trishuli Bazar, a once bustling
market area and the commercial heart of Nuwakot district,
body bags are piling up and starting to emit a strong smell
of decomposition.
Decaying human and animal remains,
unmanaged waste, and stagnant water are further heightening
the risk of waterborne diseases including diarrhoea and skin
infections, said the aid agency.
Save the Children
staff have seen children visibly unwell, with some being
treated for respiratory tract infections and
fevers.
Yalmo-, 57, who came to a holding centre in
Nuwakot with his family, said some of his grandchildren were
coughing while other children in the centre had developed
low fevers.
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“There was a lot of dirt, and we felt like
we were going to be sick,” said Yalmo-, recounting how his
family walked to safety.
His wife, Amita-, 56, said
the family were left with nothing after the water tore
through their community, and now some of her grandchildren,
who she clutches close to her, are sick.
“We were out
in the open too long, so we have scratchy throats and
fever,” she said.
Many of the water sources in the
affected areas are contaminated by debris from the flash
floods, leaving communities without access to clean drinking
and bathing water. Rain is continuing, washing torrents of
mud into areas where people have fled from their ruined
homes.
Some children now living in community buildings
on higher ground spent days out in the open after the floods
tore through their villages leaving more than 900
people dead in Nepal and over 4,000 still missing
.
As rain and the threat of further flash floods
continue to affect communities across Rasuwa and Nuwakot
districts, some of the areas worst-affected by the floods,
children are also vulnerable to vector-borne diseases, such
as dengue, as stagnant water creates breeding grounds for
mosquitoes.
Tara Chettry, Country Director,
Save the Children in Nepal said:
“The
immediate danger from the devastating flash floods may have
passed in some areas, but we fear a second crisis is
unfolding.
“Crowded spaces, contaminated water, poor
sanitation, and limited access to healthcare create the
ideal conditions for disease outbreaks that can severely
harm children.
“Children are also showing up to
holding centres and temporary shelters with coughs and other
illnesses and sometimes there is no medicine. In rural or
entirely cut off areas the situation will be even
worse.”
With needs continuing to grow, Save the
Children is calling on governments, donors, and humanitarian
partners to increase flexible funding for the Nepal floods
emergency response to ensure children and their families
receive the help that they need.
Save the Children in
Nepal’s emergency response team is working in the affected
areas and delivering essential items, including drinking
water, tarpaulins, blankets, cooking kits, mosquito nets,
baby kits and personal hygiene items such as toothbrushes in
the first phase of the response.
About Save the
Children NZ:
Save the Children works in 120 countries
across the world. The organisation responds to emergencies
and works with children and their communities to ensure they
survive, learn and are protected.
Save the Children NZ
currently supports international programmes in Fiji,
Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands
and Papua New Guinea. Areas of work include child
protection, education and literacy, disaster risk reduction
and climate adaptation, and alleviating child
poverty.
