Roundup: Up to 1.3 mln people in eastern Ukraine have little access to water: UN agency

The UN Children's Fund ( UNICEF) on Tuesday said that up to 1.3 million children and adults "have little or no access to water in eastern Ukraine" as the ongoing violence continues in the region, a UN spokesman told reporters here.

"This is due to damaged or destroyed water lines and acute water shortages," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here, quoting UNICEF.

"UNICEF and its partners have helped more than half a million people in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions access safe water since January, but more humanitarian partners are needed," he said.

UNICEF has appealed for 55.8 million U.S. dollars to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of children and families in eastern Ukraine for this year and that appeal is only 19 percent funded, he noted.

Without significant and immediate funding, UNICEF will not be able to continue providing safe water to crisis-affected families.

"Water is one of the most acute needs of children and adults in eastern Ukraine," said Giovanna Barberis, the UNICEF representative to Ukraine, adding that all these 1.3 million people are in conflict-affected areas in Donetsk and Luhansk who had "difficulties in getting safe drinking water."

More than 470,000 people, including 118,000 children, are also facing serious problems in accessing safe water in non-government- controlled areas of Luhansk region. Many families have to rely on trucking or travel to neighbouring villages to get water from functioning wells.

Mariupol, a city of 500,000 in Donetsk region under government control, is no longer receiving water from the Severskiy Donets- Donbass water channel, which has been damaged by shelling.

The city is now reliant on a water-storage reservoir that is rapidly depleting. With little rain in recent weeks and hot summer temperatures, conditions are becoming increasingly difficult for residents.

The risk of waterborne disease is likely to increase as people are unable to store or transport water safely, UNICEF said.

"UNICEF and its partners have helped over 550,000 people in Donetsk and Luhansk regions to access safe water since January, but more humanitarian partners are needed for the emergency water and sanitation response. No children and families should have to risk their lives in order to access one of life's basic necessities for survival," Barberis said.

More than 54,000 people, including children, have also received essential hygiene supplies since January 2015.

Since the beginning of the conflict in March 2014, almost 1.4 million people have been internally displaced in Ukraine, including at least 174,000 children. The humanitarian crisis in eastern Ukraine has affected more than 5 million people, including 1.7 million children.

In mid-June, the Ukrainian government estimated that at least 68 children have been killed and 176 wounded since the start of the armed conflict in eastern regions in April 2014

As a result of the hostilities in Donetsk and Lugansk regions, at least 1,086 children have been left orphaned and 150,000 others were forced to flee their homes in the restive areas, Interfax- Ukraine news agency reported.

The humanitarian situation in the region is further deteriorating, and Ukrainian officials said that the United Nations and other international organizations should be allowed full access to the conflict-torn areas to "prevent further suffering by children. "

The 14-month-old armed confrontation between government troops and pro-independence insurgents in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 6,400 people, reports said. Endite