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

At least 22,000 children in Nepal urgently need safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene support more than a week after flash floods struck the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river basin, UNICEF said Thursday.

The floods damaged water systems across affected districts and destroyed or damaged toilets and other sanitation facilities. UNICEF warned that the conditions increase 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, two of the hardest-hit areas. The aid includes 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. The agency estimates that at least 19 schools suffered damage. Eight were completely destroyed and eight partially destroyed, while more than 10,000 school-age children need immediate psychosocial support and access to safe learning spaces.

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Every parent in these districts is now making the same calculation several times a day. Where can I get water, and is it safe to give to my child?