A UN agency reported that the devastating earthquake in Nepal would affect nearly 50,000 pregnant women.
Initial estimates by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) indicate that some 50,000 pregnant women and girls could be among the survivors in quake-affected Nepal where at least 4,347 lives were lost.
The toll continues to mount days after a devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake jolted Nepal on April 25, 2015.
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Pregnant women affected by the disaster require maternal health services, including antenatal care, safe delivery services, postpartum care and, for those who experience complications, emergency obstetric services. Protection for women and girls from gender-based-violence and other threats will also be critical, said the UN agency.
"In times of upheaval or natural disasters, pregnancy-related deaths and gender-based violence soar," said Priya Marwah, UNFPA's humanitarian response coordinator in Asia and the Pacific. "Many women lose access to essential reproductive health services and give birth in appalling conditions without access to safe delivery services and lifesaving care."
![What to Do During and After an Earthquake?]( "What to Do During and After an Earthquake?")
Developing countries have to be prepared for natural calamities like earthquakes and tsunamis and take steps to modernize their disaster management systems.
UNFPA is coordinating with the government and humanitarian partners to respond to these needs in Nepal. Emergency staff members are being deployed, and reproductive health kits are en route to the quake-hit areas in the Himalayan nation.
"The fund is particularly concerned about the fate of pregnant women who have been affected by this tragedy, including those who might face potentially life-threatening complications," said UNFPA executive director Babatunde Osotimehin.
Source: Medindia
What to Do During and After an Earthquake?
Developing countries have to be prepared for natural calamities like earthquakes and tsunamis and take steps to modernize their disaster management systems.
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UNFPA is coordinating with the government and humanitarian partners to respond to these needs in Nepal. Emergency staff members are being deployed, and reproductive health kits are en route to the quake-hit areas in the Himalayan nation.
"The fund is particularly concerned about the fate of pregnant women who have been affected by this tragedy, including those who might face potentially life-threatening complications," said UNFPA executive director Babatunde Osotimehin.
Source: Medindia
Nepal Earthquake: Death Toll Rises to 4,310 With 10,000 People Injured
The UN estimates that eight million people in 39 districts have been affected by the 7.8-magnitude quake - more than a quarter of the population.
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 Nepal Earthquake: National Geophysical Research Institute to Asses Seismic Hazard LevelThe earthquake that struck Nepal is understood to be a typical Himalayan earthquake caused by the collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate. | Advertisement
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