Agencies Urge Streamlining Of Aid Distribution In Nepal, As U.N. Warns Of Disease Outbreak Potential During Imminent Monsoon Season

New York Times: Nepal’s Bureaucracy Is Blamed as Earthquake Relief Supplies Pile Up
“Relief supplies for earthquake victims have been piling up at the airport and in warehouses here because of bureaucratic interference by Nepalese authorities who insist that standard customs inspections and other procedures be followed, even in an emergency, officials with Western governments and aid organizations said on Sunday…” (Harris, 5/3).

Reuters: Monsoons could bring disease, a second crisis, to Nepal: UNICEF
“There is only ‘a small window of time’ for relief workers in Nepal to put in place measures to protect people from deadly disease outbreaks, a senior United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) official said on Saturday. The dangers posed would be exacerbated by wet and muddy conditions brought on by the upcoming rainy season, said Rownak Khan, UNICEF’s deputy representative in the country…” (D’Urso, 5/1).

U.N. News Centre: ‘Nepal is not alone,’ U.N. and E.U. aid chiefs say, reaffirming commitment to assist quake-hit country
“Wrapping up their visit to Nepal, the United Nations and European Union aid chiefs stressed that while relief teams are working around the clock to assist the thousands of people affected by the devastating earthquake that struck the tiny Himalayan nation one week ago today, aircraft and helicopters are urgently needed, as are emergency shelters, particularly for people in hard-hit rural areas…” (5/2).

U.N. News Centre: Nepal: opening first field hub, U.N. health agency expands support to areas cut off by quake
“In a major step to boost the health care assistance to earthquake survivors in Nepal who have been unreachable since last week’s devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today announced it is setting up a new field office in the remote, mountainous Gorkha district, considered to be near the epicentre of the quake…” (5/3).

Wall Street Journal: U.N. Presses Nepal to Expedite Entry of Aid Supplies
“The United Nations pressed Nepal to make it easier to bring aid into the quake-stricken country as international relief organizations and Nepalese authorities struggled Sunday to get enough tents and medical supplies to remote areas. The death toll from the magnitude-7.8 earthquake on April 25 crossed 7,200, according to the official count on Sunday evening. More than three million Nepalese need food aid and hundreds of thousands are homeless, according to U.N. and Nepalese government estimates…” (McClain/Zhong, 5/3).

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