UNICEF sending relief supplies for quake-affected children in China

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will send urgently needed relief supplies for children affected by the earthquake in western China, in support of the Government’s relief effort.

“We are organizing assistance to support the Chinese Government’s disaster response with a focus on the special needs of children and women,” said Dr. Yin Yin Nwe, UNICEF Representative and UN Disaster Management Team Chair in China, in a statement issued yesterday.

“We are in constant consultation with our Government partners to gather necessary information and it appears that there has been extensive destruction to homes, health facilities and schools,” he added.

The 7.1-magnitude earthquake on Wednesday heavily damaged parts of remote Yushu prefecture, a region mostly populated by Tibetan herdsmen. It reportedly destroyed much of Jiegu, the main town in Yushu prefecture, whose population is estimated at 357,000. Some 100,000 people live in Jiegu.

Authorities in China have requested UNICEF support in the form of school tents, warm clothing, quilts and learning kits. Response will be coordinated with other UN agencies.

According to education officials in the affected area, 80 per cent of primary schools and 50 per cent of secondary schools have been severely damaged, affecting 22,719 students and 1,086 teachers. Although the quake struck before the start of classes on Wednesday morning, about half of the students in the sparsely-populated region attend boarding schools.

The UN World Health Organization (WHO) for its part said it was in regular contact with the Chinese health ministry and had expressed its commitment to supporting the Government.

The death toll has been put at about 617 and more than 9,000 have been injured, according to Chinese authorities. Some 313 people are reported missing and 100,000 have been left homeless.

Meanwhile, the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) stressed that death and destruction from earthquakes can be minimized by integrating seismic risk into land use planning and urban development strategies in zones prone to seismic activity.

Building codes must also be enforced for critical infrastructure, including high-use and high-occupancy buildings such hospitals, schools and factories.

“As more and more people are living in cities prone to earthquakes such as Tokyo, Mexico City, New York, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Jakarta, Dhaka and Tehran, we can expect higher numbers of deaths from earthquakes in the future unless we invest more today in disaster risk reduction measures,” said Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction.