Helen Keller International Prepares Emergency Response in Nepal
HKI working on rapid assessment of critical nutrition needs in collaboration with Government of Nepal
Helen Keller International (HKI) has commenced with a rapid assessment of critical nutrition needs in Nepal following the massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated the impoverished nation earlier this week.
These efforts are being done in close collaboration with Nepal’s District Disaster Response teams, and will focus on determining the needs of infants, young children and pregnant and lactating women, all of whom are especially vulnerable during emergency situations.
Based on these assessments, further response is likely to include distribution of supplementary food, micronutrient powders (single-dose packets of vitamins and minerals) and vitamin A supplements, as well as other efforts to prevent malnutrition for the hundreds of thousands made homeless through this disaster.
In addition to ensuring shelter, clean drinking water, healthcare and sanitary facilities, providing nutrition aid is an essential component of the immediate response to disasters.
Infants, young children and pregnant and lactating women are especially vulnerable to micronutrient deficiencies, putting them at far greater risk of infections, impaired physical and mental development, and even premature death.
Micronutrient deficiencies often develop or are made more severe during and immediately following disasters in high poverty countries. With scarcity of food and poor sanitation conditions, diarrheal diseases often break out, resulting in malabsorption and nutrient losses. The spread of infectious diseases suppress the appetite while increasing the need for micronutrients to help fight illness.
Helen Keller International is a global leader in nutrition, with a longstanding history of responding to communities in critical need. HKI led the largest-ever distribution of micronutrient powders in response to the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia – efforts that directly informed the World Health Organization’s guidelines on Emergency Nutrition Response.
HKI staff and partners on the ground will focus their efforts on 10 of the most badly hit districts where programs aimed at improving nutrition in poor communities were in place before the earthquake: Dolka, Sindupalchok, Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Dhading, Gorkha, Lamjung, Syangja, Palpa and Parbhat.
HKI will also provide support in five additional districts where a new nutrition initiative was scheduled to launch: Ramechap, Makwanpur, Sindhuli, Oklandunga and Updayapur.
Nepal is one of the world's poorest nations with an estimated 40% of its people living in poverty. Malnutrition is a major underlying cause of the child morbidity and mortality in Nepal with 41% of children under five stunted.
HKI will leverage a wealth of knowledge and experience as a leading nonprofit organization working in Nepal for nearly 30 years.
To support Helen Keller International’s Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund, visit www.hki.org/Nepal.
Additional Resources
Heather Mangrum, Director, Communications
646-472-0355
hmangrum@hki.org
Founded in 1915, Helen Keller International’s mission is to save the sight and lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. HKI combats the causes and consequences of blindness and malnutrition by establishing programs based on evidence and research in vision, health, and nutrition. Visit www.hki.org for more information.
Tags:
