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UNICEF launched new appeal for quake-affected children amid growing needs HK corporations have joined hands with UNICEF HK to support Nepal relief work

2015-04-30

HONG KONG, 30 April 2015 — Among the 2.8 million children affected by Nepal earthquake, 1.7 million amid growing risk of disease outeaks are living in the worst-hit areas. UNICEF launched a HK$393 million (US$50.35 million) global appeal to meet immediate humanitarian needs over the next three months. A number of Hong Kong corporations have joined hands with the Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF HK) to call for public support to the Nepal relief work. UNICEF relief supplies are stacked on pallets at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the capital. The UNICEF logo is on the shipment, which includes tents, tarpaulin sheeting, family hygiene kits and water purification tablets. More than 100 pallets of UNICEF relief supplies have been airlifted to the capital to date. A man and two workers stand near the shipment and an aeroplane on the tarmac. On 29 April 2015 in Nepal, search, rescue and relief operations continue in the aftermath of the massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit the country on 25 April. The quake’s epicentre was 80 kilometres from Kathmandu, the capital. Nearly 5,000 people have been killed, more than 9,700 others have been injured, and more than 8 million people have been affected. In the areas hardest hit by the disaster, about 1.7 million children urgently need humanitarian aid. Residences, schools and vital infrastructure, including hospitals, have been severely damaged or destroyed, leaving thousands of children and families homeless, vulnerable to disease outeaks and in urgent need of food, shelter, safe water and sanitation, and health support. Over 1.4 million people are in need of food assistance. Tens of thousands of displaced people are sheltering in camps or in available open spaces. The situation has been exacerbated by continuing powerful aftershocks that have caused additional damage. Working with the Government and other partners, including fellow United Nations organizations, UNICEF is supporting water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health, nutrition, child protection, education and other interventions. In response to the disaster, UNICEF is providing tents, including for hospitals; tarpaulin sheeting; emergency medical kits; vaccines and related supplies; zinc and oral rehydration salts to prevent diarrhoeal disease outeaks; water purification tablets; hygiene kits and buckets; and temporary learning spaces and psychosocial counselling for children. UNICEF is
© UNICEF/NYHQ2015-1058/Nybo
Tens of thousands of people were driven into open spaces and temporary camps in the Kathmandu valley and the rest of the worst-affected districts. 200 UNICEF staff are on the ground, working with partners to deliver vital humanitarian assistance including shelter, water and sanitation supplies, as well as socio-psychological support to children.
"Without a safe water supply, waterborne diseases remain huge risks for children. Many families are struggling simply to protect themselves from the sun and rain and we only expect needs to grow in the coming days as we receive more information from remoter areas and the full scale of the disaster becomes more apparent," says Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF Nepal Representative.
Tents, hygiene kits, water purification tablets and buckets have been dispatched to Gorkha for distribution, the area at the epicentre of the earthquake, where the presence of dead bodies poses the risk of disease outeaks. These life-saving supplies have also been delivering in Bhaktapur where only 1 in 5 peopole are estimated to have access to clean water. UNICEF teams are identifying and assisting children who have been separated from their families, as well as providing psychological support to children experienced in extreme shock.
0430_UNICEFHK_Photo_1
© UNICEF Nepal/KPage
A number of Hong Kong corporations have joined hands with UNICEF HK to call for public support to the Nepal relief work. From 1 May to 15 May, all donations collected from passengers on Cathay Pacific and Dragonair flights through the “Change for Good” inflight fundraising programme will be channeled to assist UNICEF's relief efforts in Nepal.
Besides, from now to 3 May, every keyword of “NEPAL” search at Yahoo! Hong Kong (www.yahoo.com.hk), or every transaction made at Yahoo! Shopping by public, Yahoo! Hong Kong will donate HK$1 to UNICEF HK to support UNICEF’s relief response in Nepal.
Ms Judy Chen, Chairman of UNICEF HK says, "UNICEF HK has raised nearly HK$4.4 million in the last few days. With the great support from local corporations, we hope to receive more support from Hong Kong community to save the Nepali children.”
To help children and families affected by the earthquake in Nepal, please make online donation at unicef.org.hk/donate.
Donation for Nepal Earthquake
Online donation: /donate
Direct Bank-in: HSBC: 567-354014-005
Bank of China: 012-875-0-021868-3
Wing Lung Bank: 020-601-003-7634-8
Bank of East Asia: 015-260-81-012100
Hotline: 2833 6139
(In the unusual event that donations for Nepal Earthquake exceed the needs, we will direct your gift to disaster or emergency relief actions elsewhere.)
 
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For more information please contact:
Hong Kong Committee for UNICEF
Jamie Wong, Communication Specialist Tel / Mobile: 2836 2967 / 6149 3378 Email: [email protected]