NEPAL Overcrowded shelters risk children’s health and safety

More than 700 people have been killed and more than 2,400 remain unaccounted for after a glacier collapse on 26 August unleashed a torrent of rock, ice, mud and debris through Himalayan mountain river systems. [1] 

With roads and bridges destroyed, many survivors in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts remain cut off from vital services, including shelter, clean drinking water, food, medical assistance and child protective services. 

Many children and their families are being brought to temporary holding centres, often run by government or local authorities in schools or sports facilities, where people are registered, assessed and referred to medical facilities, aid distribution sites and shelters in the hills surrounding flood-affected areas. Some families are also sleeping on the floors of aid distribution sites due to the limited number of shelters available. 

Save the Children visited a holding centre in Nuwakot, one of the main districts in central Nepal affected by the flash floods, approximately 37 miles (59 kilometres) from the capital Kathmandu. The number of children being housed at the centre doubled from 30 children to 60 in the span of an afternoon after more families and children were transported there by truck. 

The rapid increase in the number of children and families arriving at the limited holding centres is putting additional pressure on already stretched facilities and raising concerns about children’s health, safety and access to essential services. 

Ishaan-, 9, was moved from one holding centre to another along with his grandparents and four other family members and was still wearing the same muddy and dirty clothes he was wearing when the water, mud and debris hit. 

Ishaan said:

"They told us we were moving so we got on a truck and moved from where we were staying but we arrived at this centre which has more people and is more crowded. I cannot stay inside, it is too stuffy. I want to play and stay outside." 

While local authorities are fighting against time to rescue people, children who have survived the ordeal are now facing uncertainty and are feeling unsettled after being constantly moved from centre to centre, raising the risk of overcrowding as well as limited access to toilets, showers and other personal hygiene facilities as well as the risk of the spread of illnesses between children living and sleeping in close proximity to each other. 

Tara Chettry, Country Director Save the Children Nepal, said: 

"We are extremely concerned right now about children who are vulnerable to psychological distress after a massive disaster such as this and moving them frequently from one holding centre to another without a proper rationale or without adequate tracing in place significantly intensifies the risks to these children. "Stability matters for children following a disaster. Not only are they feeling distressed after losing their friends and family members but now they have to deal with an added layer of anxiety.  

"We’re urging local authorities to work quickly to establish safe and spacious temporary shelters for children and to ensure that every movement of children is carefully planned, coordinated and guided by the best interest of the child." 

Save the Children is in Nuwakot and has been distributing essential items to children and families including baby kits and hygiene kits as well as blankets for families, toothbrushes and toys for children to help recover from their ordeal. Save the Children is also providing clean drinking water to affected families and working with local authorities, where needed, to reunite separated children with their families. 

Save the Children has been working in Nepal since 1976 as the country's largest child-focused organization, operating across numerous districts in areas like education, health, child protection, and disaster response. 

References:

[1] National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority https://ndrrma.gov.np/en/rasuwa