There is still time to save lives — that’s why governments and aid agencies Sunday rushed doctors, volunteers and equipment to Nepal without waiting for the dust to settle.
U.N. spokeswoman Orla Fagan, who is heading to Nepal, said preventing the spread of disease is one of the most important tasks facing aid workers who are arriving.
There are 14 international medical teams on the way and either 14 or 15 international search-and-rescue teams on the way,They need to get in as soon as possible. They will use military aircraft to get them into Nepal.
–Orla Fagan, U.N. spokeswoman
Substantial logistical hurdles remain, but there were hopeful signs as Kathmandu’s international airport reopened after Saturday’s crushing earthquake, and some aid vehicles were able to travel overland from India to the stricken Nepalese city of Pokhara.
“That means supplies could potentially come in overland from India. That is a positive sign,” said Ben Pickering, Save the Children’s humanitarian adviser in Britain. “The airport opening is a small miracle.”
He cautioned that chaotic conditions may create a bottleneck at the airport as governments and aid agencies try to bring in personnel and supplies in the coming days.
International Search and Rescue Germany said a team of 52 relief workers including doctors, experts trained in searching for people buried under rubble and several dog squads are flying Sunday. The team will bring a mobile medical treatment centre.
UNICEF said Sunday that at least 940,000 children in areas affected by the earthquake are in “urgent need” of humanitarian assistance. UNICEF staff reported dwindling water supplies, power shortages and communications breakdowns.
The United Arab Emirates deployed an 88-member search-and-rescue team to Nepal Sunday, and the Emirates Red Crescent also sent a team.
The Israeli military said it is sending a 260-member mission to Nepal to provide immediate search-and-rescue help and medical aid.
France said it would send 11 rescuers on Sunday; Britain announced that an advance team of eight had been sent and that a 5 million pound ($7.6 million) aid package would be available under a rapid response plan; and the Swiss Foreign Ministry said a team of experts including a doctor, a building surveyor and water quality technician had left for Nepal on Sunday.
Pakistan today sent two planes with relief goods, a field hospital and several paramedics and rescue workers to earthquake-hit Nepal.
The relief goods included ready to eat meals, mineral water, tents, blankets, mobile hospital, medicines and life-saving drugs, it said in a statement.
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