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Cholera Fears Rise in Nepal Disaster Zone as 21,000 Vaccine Doses Arrive

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Nepal’s health authorities sent 21,000 cholera vaccine doses by army helicopter to northern Rasuwa after floods and landslides damaged water sources and infrastructure.
  • The United Nations warned that contaminated water, food and livestock carcasses could increase the risk of waterborne disease, while Nepal expands health surveillance.
  • The UN launched a $50 million appeal, and Prime Minister Balendra Shah plans to raise the disaster at the UN General Assembly.

Twelve days after catastrophic flooding in Nepal, fears of a cholera outbreak are growing in areas where sanitation has sharply deteriorated and no further reports of survivor rescues have emerged.

Nepal is currently in the monsoon season, and because there is a risk of cholera, sanitation needs special support.

· Laila Peters YahiaThe UN resident coordinator urged greater attention to hygiene in the flood-hit areas.

Nepal’s health authorities said they sent 21,000 doses of cholera vaccine by army helicopter on the morning of the 6th to Rasuwa in the north, with support from the World Health Organization. Health Minister Nisha Mehta ordered the immediate delivery of medicines, vaccines and medical services, and officials said they would increase health staffing for disease surveillance.

Floods and major landslides across central and northern Nepal have damaged drinking-water sources and destroyed infrastructure. Authorities are particularly concerned about cholera, which spreads through contaminated water and food. Laila Peters Yahia, the UN resident coordinator in Nepal, told AFP that the country was in the monsoon season and needed special support for sanitation because of the cholera risk.

We are exposed to the risk of cholera, so we need to invest in sanitation and cleanliness right now.

· Laila Peters YahiaShe emphasized the urgency of preventing waterborne disease after the disaster.

Yahia said the response must focus not only on shelter and food but also on preventing disease. Citing government figures, she said 5,000 cattle had died in the floods and warned that carcasses left in the water could contribute to the spread of viruses and waterborne diseases. “We are exposed to the risk of cholera, so we need to invest in sanitation and cleanliness right now,” she said.

As you know, this disaster occurred within just one or two minutes.

· Laila Peters YahiaShe described the sudden destruction in Nepal’s mountainous disaster areas.

She described a disaster that unfolded within one or two minutes, leaving residents struggling to understand how their living spaces had become ruins. Roads into affected areas have been cut, leaving people isolated. The UN has launched a $50 million fundraising campaign, while Prime Minister Balendra Shah plans to attend the UN General Assembly on the 24th, his first overseas trip since taking office in March, to appeal for international attention to the floods, climate change and the destruction of mountain ecosystems.

People are cut off from the rest of the world because the roads to the affected areas have been severed.

· Laila Peters YahiaShe explained how damaged roads have isolated disaster-hit communities.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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