Maternal and child mortality on a rise in flood region of Nepal
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Maternal and child mortality could rise in flood-hit western Nepal if the health care of women and children is not prioritised, said the United Nations Population Fund Agency (UNFPA)
Flash floods caused by monsoon rains killed at least 50 people in western Nepal last week. Tens of thousands have been left homeless and food stocks were destroyed in the Bardiya, Banke and Achham districts about 800 km west of the capital, Kathmandu, according to the Nepal Red Cross (NRCS). The government estimates that the flooding has affected nearly 50,000 people, killed nearly 2,000 animals and destroyed more than 10,000 mt of food. UNFPA said it was concerned that the immediate relief operation had yet to prioritise reproductive health care. Andersen cautioned that failure would risk increased maternal and child mortality. The agency had sent doctors and nurses to help and provided care packages for 700 women. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said pockets of the affected population had not received aid due to inaccessibility and resources being stretched. It said more than 20 aid agencies had provided support. Government bodies in Bardiya complained that they had not received enough help despite suffering the most from the flooding. Rajendra Kandel, from the committee coordinating relief in Bardiya's Guleriya village, said agencies had been promising resources but most of the funds had not arrived. The International Red Cross (IRC), NRCS, International Nepal Fellowship and UNFPA had started organising mobile health camps and treated hundreds of people, OCHA said. The World Health Organisation (WHO) had also dispatched its medical team from Kathmandu to help assess the situation. More |
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