On 4 May 2015 WHO briefed representatives of 22 development partners and foreign missions on the immediate, short and long-term health needs of people affected by the earthquake in Nepal. WHO Officials also briefed about the support it is providing to the Ministry of Health and Population in rolling out emergency operations to minimise death and disease.
“Within hours of the earthquake, WHO and the Ministry of Health and Population officials met in the Health Emergency Operations Centre in Kathmandu to rapidly roll out the emergency response. Today, on day 10, WHO has set up a sub-national coordination centre at Gorkha, one of the most affected districts, to ensure that support reaches the most remote areas as soon as possible,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, said.
Expecting large number of casualties from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, WHO immediately released medicines and medical supplies to take care of 40 000 people for a period of three months. These supplies were part of the four Interagency Emergency Health Kits (IEHKs).
Dr Singh spoke with the Minister of Health and Population following which WHO released USD 175,000 as emergency funds to fill immediate critical gaps and needs in the first few days after the emergency. This was the first tranche of the South-East Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund, which was set up in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, with allocation from WHO and voluntary contributions from the WHO-South East Asia Region member states.
After the first 24 hours of the earthquake and as more information on the devastation poured in, WHO disbursed four more IEHKs, surgical kits and other medical supplies to the hospitals in Kathmandu valley. The eight emergency health kits provided by then, had supplies for health needs of 80 000 people for three months. The IEHKs had earlier pre-positioned in Nepal and the Emergency Operations Centre set up in the ministry with WHO support, as part of emergency preparedness measures.
WHO has since flown in more IEHKs, surgical kits, other medical supplies, medicines, diagnostic kits etc as these continue to be of critical need for the overflowing health centres.
Of the 75 districts in Nepal, 35 have been affected by the earthquake, 14 of them severely. 90% of health care facilities outside the main towns are not functioning. WHO is coordinating the over 100 Foreign Medical Teams that are in Nepal, with most of them assigned to the severely affected districts. Medical and maternity tents are also urgently needed in Nepal.
Dr Lin Aung, WHO Representative in Nepal, and Dr Roderico Ofrin, who is WHO’s emergency health response manager in this crisis, also joined the briefing meeting on phone from Kathmandu. They informed the partners of the WHO- MoHP rapid health needs assessment that was conducted within a week of the disaster despite the tough terrain and conditions. The assessment is guiding the planning and coordination of further health response.
As the co-lead for health response with the MOHP, WHO is coordinating medical relief by partners to ensure that aid is delivered effectively, especially in the severely affected districts. The major focus is on reaching the injured and preventing disease outbreaks. WHO has set up a sub-national coordination center in Gorkha, one of the most affected districts. Another sub-national centre is planned in Dhading district.
WHO is leading water, sanitation and hygiene needs assessment in Lalitpur district, providing chlorine tablets, storage tank and water tankers to the three major hospitals, one health clinic and a primary health Centre (PHC) and building pit latrines in settlements. The agency is leading and coordinating efforts by MOHP and partners to provide psychosocial support to the affected people and assess the critical gaps in rehabilitation care.
WHO is strengthening disease surveillance system and undertaking communicable disease assessments. So far there have been no disease outbreaks in the earthquake hit Nepal. However, there is risk of acute respiratory infection; diarrheal diseases and other diseases caused by unsafe water; locally endemic diseases; eye and skin infections and possibility of vector-borne disease in the coming weeks as the night temperature rises above 15 degrees Celsius.
WHO and UNICEF are supporting MOHP to vaccinate children against measles in the 16 official camps housing over 24 000 people and the several unofficial camps. The vaccination efforts that started on 2 May will be extended to all severely affected districts. WHO is also working with Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health to deal with carcass disposal and animal disease control.
All three levels of WHO – headquarters, regional office, Nepal country office – and Nepalese colleagues from across various WHO offices are part of the surge teams, strengthening WHO support to the MOHP.
The partner agencies and foreign missions attending the briefing expressed desire to support the Nepal emergency operations with medicines, psychosocial support and any other requirement.
Media contacts:
(In Nepal)
Paul Garwood
Nepal mobile: +977 9801123116
Geneva mob:+41.79.603.7294
email: garwoodp@who.int
(In New Delhi)
Vismita Gupta-Smith
Mob: +91 9871329861
Email: guptasmithv@who.int
Shamila Sharma
Mob: +91 9818287256
Email: sharmasha@who.int
(In Geneva)
Tarik Jašarević
tel: +41 22 791 50 99
mob: +41 79 367 62 14
Email: jasarevict@who.int