Interview: Chinese medical team efficient in helping Nepal quake victims: UN official

The Chinese medical team that has been providing assistance in quake-stricken Nepal is highly efficient in conducting operations, a UN official said here on Saturday.

In an interview with Xinhua, Valerie Amo, UN under-secretary- general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said that the Chinese medical team, in providing surgeries, has established themselves very quickly and could clear in a few hours.

"It was very reassuring to see the very high quality of work they've done. They have conducted a great deal of operations," Amo said.

The remarks were made after Amo inspected a tent hospital in the Dhulikhel town, some 30 kilometers east of the national capital, where a 58-member Chinese government medical team have been treating quake victims after landing in Kathmandu on April 27.

The team has received more than 600 local quake-affected patients and 500 of them have been hospitalized.

Amo suggested that international medical teams get out to different affected places to deal with maximum number of disastrous people in a short time before the monsoon season begins.

According to the UN official, disaster relief operation in Nepal could be divided into three stages.

"We have immediate relief effort, and we are technically focused on what we are able to do in next three-four weeks (major relief operation) because soon the monsoon is to start," she said.

"There will be post disaster need assessment, which will give us a much better sense of the major infrastructure for programs to be undertaken and the cost of those programs."

In the second stage, it has to make sure that people have seeds and tools to make plantings to be able to support their animals besides rebuilding their homes and communities, she said, adding that in the longer period, infrastructure should be rebuilt and rehabilitation be made in the quake-devastated nation.

Death toll from the massive earthquake in Nepal reached 7,365, while the number of injuries stood at 14,366, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Monday.

Compared with other countries, the challenge for the ongoing relief work lies in the difficulty in reaching villages in rural areas.

"This is a mountainous country, where it's extremely difficult for us to get to disastrous areas as many villages are at the top of the hills with no roads and where there are lots of landslides, so it's not possible to land helicopters," Amo said.

After a 7.9-magnitude earthquake shook Nepal on April 25, huge amount of relief supplies from around the world have been pouring into the landlocked nation.

There have been financial presence from UN countries and across the world, including 15 million U.S. dollars aid from UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

Support has also been "provided from neighbor countries, China, India and other countries are sending medical teams and we have been very grateful for that," the official said.

Currently, over 62 rescue teams and 75 medical teams are operating in Nepal where a great number of international NGO are also have a long standing presence.

"Coordination is a major challenge. So we have to work with the Nepalese government, Nepalese army, we have to have civil military coordination between the militaries that are here and civilian organization that are delivering humanitarian assistance."

"Then we have to have coordination between the UN humanitarian organization and the local partners, International partners as well," she said.

With the onset of the monsoon season, people in Nepal are in urgent need for shelter and clear water as well as food and health care.

"We are very encouraged to see, here in Kathmandu and even in some of the areas outsides the cities the shops are open and at least foods are also available," she said. Endi