Countries around the world are sending more aid to earthquake-ravaged Nepal, where millions of people are still in urgent need of disaster relief.
The death toll of Nepal’s April 25 earthquake has risen to 7,365 with the injury number standing at 14,366, according to the Nepalese authorities that have started working out the scheme for reconstruction.
CHINA
China has earmarked two rounds of humanitarian aid worth 60 million yuan (9.7 million U.S. dollars) for Nepal.
A 62-member Chinese search and rescue team was among the first outside helpers to reach quake-hit areas in Nepal. They were followed by more teams from Chinese governmental and civil organizations, bringing with them much-needed life-saving equipment and materials.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Monday that the Chinese military has sent a 70-member team to Nepal to begin disease prevention work in quake-hit areas.
At Nepal’s request, Chinese Armed Police Force troops also arrived in the country on Sunday from Zham Town, which lies near the Nepal-China border, to help repair the highway connecting China and Nepal.
The first shipment of 186 tons of emergency aid from the Chinese government arrived in Nepal on Saturday.
An aid team of 20 members sent by the Red Cross Society of China arrived in Nepal on Saturday, and the organization also provided 2,000 tents.
On Friday, the U.S. State Department announced the deployment of helicopters to Nepal to support U.S. humanitarian assessments and the delivery of supplies to hard-hit areas outside of Kathmandu.
According to a U.S. State Department spokesman, helicopters chartered by the embassy in Kathmandu had rescued 17 U.S. citizens in total from remote areas hit by the quake.
Since the quake, the United States, the world’s largest economy, has provided 14.2 million U.S. dollars in humanitarian aid, a somewhat petty contribution compared with the large amount of aid and relief materials it had provided for its strategic partners in Southeast Asia, such as the Philippines.
In Brussels, the European Union’s humanitarian aid chief Christos Stylianides has said that the European Commission had approved 16.6 million euros (18.5 million U.S. dollars) of financial support to Nepal and another 3 million euros (3.3 million U.S. dollars) of emergency aid, bringing total help so far to 22.6 million euros (25.2 million U.S. dollars).
UNICEF
Following the Nepalese earthquake, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has delivered 29 tons of humanitarian supplies including tents, water purification tablets and first-aid kits to help at least 1.7 million children in the quake-hit areas.
The organization says they are working with the Nepalese government to ensure humanitarian supplies are delivered and distributed to affected communities as quickly as possible.
UNICEF has also launched a 50-million-dollar appeal to support its humanitarian response to the Nepalese earthquake over the next 90 days.
SINGAPORE
Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said Sunday that 126 Home Team officers are focusing their efforts on the Gorkha district in quake-hit Nepal.
Teo posted on his Facebook page that 30 more officers reached Nepal on Sunday with more relief supplies.
The Home Team contingent now consisted of 60 officers from the Singapore Civil Defense Force and 66 officers from the Singapore Police Force, which is the largest Home Team deployment for an overseas relief operation.
MYANMAR
The Myanmar government said Saturday it will transport the second batch of humanitarian assistance to Nepal by the Myanmar Air Force.
The second batch of humanitarian assistance consists of five tons of food and one ton of clothing.
The first batch was sent on Friday from Yangon to Kathmandu with 6 tons of relief goods.
The aid supplies will be distributed through the Nepalese government.
Top officials of the Pakistani government said Sunday that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has set up a special relief fund for people in Nepal.
Pakistan has already sent six transport C-130 flights loaded with initial relief consignments including tents, medicines and food items to Kathmandu. A 30-bed mobile hospital with 50 doctors is also working in Kathmandu.
Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said the Pakistan Army’s special teams also closely coordinated in the search and relief operations in quake-hit areas of Nepal.