Nepal floods leave 22,000 children without safe water: UNICEF

More than a week after flash floods struck the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river basin in Nepal, at least 22,000 children urgently need safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene support, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday. 

Water systems have been damaged across affected districts, while toilets and other sanitation facilities have been damaged or destroyed, raising the risk of waterborne and infectious diseases. 

“Every parent in these districts is now making the same calculation several times a day,” said Alice Akunga, UNICEF Representative in Nepal. “Where can I get water, and is it safe to give to my child?” 

UNICEF has dispatched water, sanitation and hygiene supplies for around 19,000 people in Rasuwa and Nuwakot, among the hardest hit areas. 

These items include more than 3,800 hygiene kits, 3,300 collapsible 10-litre jerrycans, 3,500 buckets, 3,500 one-litre mugs, 4,000 bottles of water treatment solution and more than 1,000 tarpaulin sheets. 

Staff are also working with government counterparts and partners on disease surveillance, hygiene promotion and outbreak prevention. 

UNICEF estimates that at least 19 schools have been damaged, including eight that were completely and eight partially destroyed, while more than 10,000 school-age children need immediate psychosocial support and access to safe learning spaces.

WAM