United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) has said that it is likely to terminate helicopter service in Nepal earlier than planned citing funding crisis.
Nepal has been recently devastated by the earthquakes and helicopter service is vital to humanitarian relief efforts in the disaster-hit areas.
UNHAS has said that interruption of helicopter service will leave at least 146,000 earthquake survivors in remote villages of Nepal without the support they require to survive through the monsoon and beyond, including emergency shelter and food and livelihood support.
“Airlift support is crucial for the ongoing relief operation,” said Jamie McGoldrick, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nepal. “Without it, humanitarian partners will not be able to continue providing vital assistance to communities in far-flung areas, most of which were severely affected by the earthquakes."
Trough a press statement on Monday, UNHAS, however, said that it might have to interrupt helicopter service due to funding crisis.
UNHAS says that it needs US$ 18 million to continue with the ongoing relief operation until October 2015. To date, only US$ 8.8 million (or 49 per cent) has been received, and UNHAS requires US$ 9.2 million more. "If the gap is not met soon, deliveries will cease at the end of August," read the press statement.
Edmondo Perrone, Logistics Cluster Coordinator of the UN, said: “We have pending requests to move about 650 metric tons of emergency supplies, and new requests for the movement of cargo continue to be received daily. About 35 organizations are waiting for airlifts, which emphasizes how desperate the need is for this service right now.”
UNHAS, the World Food Programme (WFP) managed service, helps the humanitarian community involved in earthquake response with free airlift services both for cargo and passenger. It delivers supplies to remote communities on behalf of the government as well as more than 135 NGOs, UN agencies, donors, the diplomatic community and other humanitarian partners.