The MSF (Doctors without Borders) team arrived in Kathmandu late of Monday, revealed the organisation on Tuesday. With 1,200 kilos of supplies (including surgical equipment which should allow for 3 days of operations), it is made up principally of one team of surgeons and one of doctors. It intends to head for the Gorkha region where the needs are greatest. Many villages there are isolated and difficult to get to. Due to congestion at the Kathmandu airport, no-one knows if the 2 cargo planes which left Ostend with 30 tons of equipment yesterday will be able to land in the Nepalese capital on Tuesday.
As for the Red Cross, they remind everyone that at least 8 million people were affected by Saturday’s earthquake. Over 5,000 homes were completely destroyed, and 15,000 other houses are inhabitable as they may yet collapse. 16 camps were set up in the Kathmandu valley to shelter the homeless. Tens of thousands of emergency shelters and first aid kits have already been distributed. 40,000 people have received aid so far but the Red Cross has has run out of supplies to hand out on site. 7 ERU (Emergency Response Units), independent units with equipment and personnel, have been deployed. There are a field hospital, 2 basic healthcare units, 2 teams dealing with logistics, one unit specialising in emergencies, and one team in charge of IT/telecommunications.
3 charter planes with relief supplies are being prepared, the first of which will leave from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) with supplies for 2,000 families on Wednesday.
(Source: Belga)
