Emergency: West Nepal Earthquake
A strong earthquake of 6.4 magnitude hit Nepal's Western Province of Karnali, shortly before midnight, on 3 November 2023. As of 24 November 2023, 154 people (Female: 83, Male: 71) had died and more than 900 had been injured as a result of the earthquake. Jajarkot, which was the epicenter, and Rukum West are the two districts most affected by last month's disaster. The earthquake and subsequent aftershocks have also caused damages to several health facilities in the province. 77 health facilities have been affected, 13 of which are structurally are non-functional and where services are rendered through nearby temporary set-ups.
Since the first day, WHO has been working closely with the Ministry of Health and Population to support urgent health needs of the affected population. WHO personnel have been deployed to assist the provincial health authorities in various response activities.
WHO personnel have been continuously coordinating with representatives of the health section of affected municipalities and hospitals along with the Health Service Directorate of Karnali Province for needs identification, situation updates and information management. At the national level, WHO has been supporting to co-chair health cluster meetings.
Regular support has been provided for surveillance and Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) activities. Through government established syndromic surveillance conducted from 5 November 2023 to 7 December 2023, 6498 cases of AGE, cough, fever with cough, fever with rash, fever and Jaundice were reported. Among reported cases nearly 19% were from below five years of age. The surveillance team has also been working to verify public health signals and monitor the trend of reported cases to prevent any possible disease outbreak and initiate timely response.
WHO has provided 2 basic modules of Interagency Emergency Health Kit, 1 full set of Interagency Emergency Health Kit, 35 Major Trauma Backpacks, 60 Rapid Response Team Backpacks, and 4 sets (24 sqm) of Multipurpose Tents. 1 Medical Camp Kit (MCK) has been established, and 2 others are in the process of establishment.
WHO has been providing continued support on information management, operation and documentation at federal and provincial level. Recently, WHO provided orientation on the Health Resource and Services Availability Monitoring System (HeRAMS) to officials at the Ministry of Health and Population.
Support to injury data analysis has been provided for identification of cases that require further follow-up and management including the continuity of care at the community level.
PRS is an important area of WHO's response to the Nepal earthquake. WHO has conducted orientations on PRS for members of the health cluster at both the federal and provincial levels to promote awareness of Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) principles, and will be supporting the Ministry of Social Development, Karnali Province, to orient local government officials including gender focal persons on PRS, in the earthquake affected districts. In addition, WHO has supported efforts to disseminate IEC materials on PRS to the affected areas. These include materials about the PRS Code of Conduct, posters about six core principles, as well as the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) referral pathway, developed by the UN Resident Coordinator's Office and National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Authority.
WHO has been supporting the continuous monitoring of vaccine sub-stores to ensure vaccines are intact and cold chain is maintained, coordinating with the Reporting Units (RUs) of Jajarkot, Rukum West and Salyan districts for strengthening VPD surveillance, and supporting planning of measles-rubella and typhoid conjugate vaccination campaigns in the affected districts.
WHO is providing continued technical support to help restore emergency and essential health services. WHO has facilitated the identification of at-risk population groups and coordinated with provincial and local governments to ensure the continuation of health services at the local level. WHO has provided medical kits and drugs, facilitated water quality surveillance in earthquake-affected areas, and facilitated government actions for the deployment of human resources and procurement of required medicines.
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