Nepal facing humanitarian crisis as winter approaches
CBC Radio | Posted: November 12, 2015 10:21 PM | Last Updated: November 13, 2015
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.
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 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.
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."