Nepal Earthquake: New Zealand Will Not Send Urban Search and Rescue Team to Nepal, UNICEF Launches US$50.35 Million Appeal for Children

The government of New Zealand will not send an urban search and rescue team to Nepal. Meanwhile, UNICEF has launched a US$50.35 million appeal for children.

According to eKantipur, New Zealand will not send their USAR team as the Nepal government has stated that it has "enough capability at present."

"Prior to their departures, the Nepal government informed us that they had enough USAR capability and our team was no longer required," said Murray McCully, New Zealand's Foreign Minister.

"We completely understand the Nepal government's decision and based on our own experience of managing the Christchurch earthquake, we know that dealing with international offers of assistance can be fast moving and needs can change rapidly."

McCully added that the team will be ready to help if the government asked them.

The New Zealand government has already made an initial assistance of $1 million for the relief to the Nepal as the country has struck by an earthquake on April 25.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has disclosed that around 1.7 million children are in "urgent need" of aid in the areas hit by the earthquake in Nepal.

The UNICEF reported that the United Nations children's organization has launched a US$50.35 million appeal to get a humanitarian assistance for the children and their families "amid growing risk of disease outbreaks".

"The lives of so many children have been torn apart and they are in desperate need of life-saving support, including clean, shelter and sanitation," said Tomoo Hozumi, UNICEF Nepal Representative.

"Without a safe water supply, waterborne diseases remain huge risks for children. Many families are struggling simply to protect themselves from the sun and rain and we only expect needs to grow in the coming days as we received more information from remoter areas and the full scale of the disaster becomes more apparent."