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Nepal facing humanitarian crisis as winter approaches

Aid groups in Nepal warn that the country is facing a humanitarian crisis. People displaced by the earthquake last spring are still living in temporary shelters, and winter is coming.
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In this Oct. 20, 2015 photo, a Nepalese child victim of the April 25 earthquake lies inside a temporary shelter in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Aid groups are warning of a crisis unfolding in Nepal as winter approaches, especially for the estimated 400,000 Nepalis who live at elevations of 1,500 meters or higher. An unspecified number are still living in temporary shelters in camps across the country. Their tents and tin huts protected them from the monsoon rains but will be little match for the snow and cold expected in mountain villages by the end of November. (Niranjan Shrestha/AP)
As It Happens6:28Nepal facing humanitarian crisis as winter months approach

Winter is coming and aid groups are warning that could trigger a humanitarian crisis in Nepal.

The country was hit by a devastating earthquake last April that killed 9,000 people, injured 23,000 and left hundreds of thousands homeless. The displaced are now living in temporary shelters and most have not been fortified to face the mountainous country's brutal winter weather.

"People are telling our teams, who are out in the field now doing what they can with the materials and supplies that we have, that they're concerned," Mattias Bryneson tells As It Happens guest host Helen Mann.
Mattias Bryneson is the country director for Plan International Nepal. (Twitter)

Bryneson is the country director for Plan International Nepal. The colder weather exacerbates the challenges of providing relief, especially to mountainous regions in higher altitudes, which receive heavy snowfall.

"If you look at the earthquake-affected district in northern Nepal we have millions of people at altitude," Bryneson explains. "Hundreds of thousands of families, children, mothers, adults, in these remote villages which are blocked off by snow once we get into the winter."

Most people are still in temporary shelters and struggling to get by with limited resources. Bryneson says in the last six months, his team has been working to improve the shelters in anticipation of winter.

"What we have now in most places are temporary buildings: wooden walls, wooden sheets or bamboo, and then corrugated iron sheets on top for roofing," Byrneson explains. "Tarps or materials to insulate these temporary buildings, mattresses to sleep on, blankets and warm clothes as well."

In this Oct. 20, 2015 photo, Nepalese woman Indra Laxmi, dries clothes near temporary makeshift tents for earthquake victims in Bhaktapur. (Niranjan Shrestha/The Associated Press)

In addition to the weather, political turmoil has made it increasingly difficult to provide supplies and winterization kits to those in need.

"A new constitution was approved by parliament and there's long standing disagreements about the political situation with different groups within Nepal and this has obviously been going on for a decade or more," Bryneson says.

People cheer towards a passing helicopter as they gather during a celebration a day after the first democratic constitution was announced in Kathmandu, Nepal Sept. 21, 2015. It's a historic step for a nation that has witnessed war, a palace massacre and devastating earthquakes since a campaign to create a modern state began more than 65 years ago. (Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

The political unrest has led to strikes and blockades along the Indian border. Bryneson says that those involved are aware of the sweeping shortages across Nepal and urgent need for resolution as winter approaches.

"In the end, what's needed here is a political solution and a dialogue between all these groups with interests so we can move forward and normalize the situation again," Bryneson says. "It's a deeply worrying situation right now, in terms of getting help out to these families."

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