Two weeks after the first 7.8 Magnitude earthquake struck Nepal, 80% of the country’s infrastructure has collapsed or is deemed unsafe. Struck by another 7.2 Magnitude earthquake on May 12, 2015, the humanitarian situation was further deteriorated and many in Nepal were once again sleeping outside in fear of strong aftershocks or another earthquake
Action Against Hunger (ACF) was able to quickly mobilise, largely due to many of your generous donations. While real progress has been made, we are just at the beginning of our project to rebuild Nepal.
ACF’s Response in Nepal
ACF is currently present and has started our response in four affected areas: Kathmandu, Sindhupalchowk, Nukwakot and Rasuwa. We began our response by conducting field needs assessments as well as conducting screenings of children under 5 years of age in Sindhupalchowk for moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and severe acute malnutrition (SAM).
ACF has provided slab latrines, construction tools, tarpaulin and bundles of rope to Batrawati resettlement camp in Nuwakot District. The Food Security and Livelihood (FSL) and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) teams have also started to implement activities in Nuqakot and Rasuma such as setting up Village Development Committees as well as evaluating the water supply networks.
In Kathmandu, we are providing psychosocial counselling to patients and health staff in Bir hospital as well as the city maternity hospital. A baby friendly space has been set up in the maternity hospital to support pregnant and lactating women through psychosocial and care practice as well as working closely with the MHCP team to organise several trainings including Psychological First Aid and stress management.
Lots to Be Done
Our work in Nepal is far from complete. In fact, this is one of the most critical times after an Emergency as funding begins to diminish. ACF seeks to provide cash income generating opportunities, as well a much needed psychosocial counselling of patients and health staff, among other important projects. ACF`s overall strategy revolved around four central sectors
- Nutrition— preventing deaths of infants and children under five in areas affected by the earthquake. One example is creating baby friendly spaces.
- Mental Health and Care Practices— improving psychological well-being of people in distress to cope better with their situation and to put adaptive behaviours in place. These activities include providing psychological and psychosocial support to children in schools and patients in hospitals.
- Water, Sanitation & Hygiene – improving access to safe water and adequate sanitation services. These services include rehabilitation and treatment of water supply networks, supporting the construction of emergency latrines, and targeted hygiene promotion.
- Food Security & Livelihood – meet the basic needs of those affected by providing an extra source of income. Such activities include cash for work and unconditional cash grants.