UN Appeals to all Sides in Conflict to Let Through Food Convoys, Medicine

United Nations humanitarian agencies have appealed to all parties in the conflict in Nepal to allow safe passage for food convoys to hundreds of thousands of people, and the distribution of vitamins and de-worming tablets for 6 million children, as roadblocks, curfews and strikes make reaching remote areas increasingly difficult.

"It is critical for the food to reach the camps to avoid any hunger or suffering on the part of the people there," UN World Food Programme (<"">WFP) acting country director Jean-Pierre de Margerie said today of his agency's efforts to feed thousands of refugees from nearby Bhutan in the south of the Himalayan kingdom.

"This convoy is travelling for purely humanitarian reasons and we ask all parties to assist in its passage," he added, noting that previous dispatches of food to camps in Jhapa and Morang districts were disrupted by strikes and blockades as the conflict intensifies between the Government, rebel Maoists and political parties protesting against King Gyanendra's suspension of parliamentary rule.

"WFP is neutral - we are here to support communities," Mr. de Margerie said of the agency's plans to send convoys from the south-eastern town of Biratnagar in the next few days.

At the same time, WFP provides nutritious food to 300,000 children in schools and mothers in clinics.

Noting that both the new school and the national distribution of Vitamin A capsules and de-worming tablets are scheduled to start within the next week, The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has urged all parties to respect the rights of youngsters in these two areas.

Some 48,000 female community health volunteers will mobilize in each of the wards in all 75 districts for the distribution, one of the largest child-survival exercises in Nepal.

"Whatever the issues between adults, one thing that they have agreed on in the past is that the children of Nepal have the right to live and be protected from disease," UNICEF Representative Suomi Sakai said. "What the children need now is for the Female Community Health Volunteers to be able to distribute the capsules and tablets.

Half of Nepal's children are malnourished and many also do not have enough Vitamin A, an essential element in boosting the immune systems. Vitamin A distribution is estimated to save the lives of some 12,000 children each year and to prevent some 2,000 each year from going blind.

Every six months, Vitamin A capsules are distributed to some 3.3 million children aged between six months and five years. A further 3.1 million children aged between one and five years are set to receive de-worming capsules that greatly reduce rates of anaemia.

"Let all adults agree next week on one thing: put children first," Dr. Sakai said. "Help the children of Nepal get their Vitamin A capsules and de-worming tablets, and help them get to school in peace."

Source: United Nations

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