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AmeriCares Responds to Emergency Needs of Bihar Flood Survivors

by AmeriCares | AmeriCares
Wednesday, 3 September 2014 05:56 GMT

* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

In mid-August when the combined fury of heavy rains and flooding rivers affected more than 400,000 people in Bihar, AmeriCares India team quickly mobilized emergency aid to reach people forced to flee their homes in India's most flood prone state. The displaced are facing food shortages and water contamination, along with increased risk of water borne and vector borne diseases.

Working with local partners in four of the severely affected districts, AmeriCares has helped people living in camps and shelters gain access to basic health care, nutritional support and water purification supplies.

Meeting Immediate Needs AmeriCares India team has mobilized emergency aid to help survivors of widespread flooding in northern Bihar state gain access to basic health care along with water purification, nutritional and other humanitarian supplies. Our medical teams conducted 11 health camps, providing free consultation and medicines to more than 1800 people Provided oral rehydration solution for 3000 children and nutritional supplements for 750 children Provided a 3-week supply of water purification tablets for 2500 families Distributed non-food item kits containing essential household items and personal hygiene products

With 76% of the population in north Bihar living under the recurring threat of flood devastation, 14 of Bihar's 38 districts were hit in the latest flooding. AmeriCares response focused on the districts of Supaul, West Champaran, East Champaran and Darbhanga.

AmeriCares India provides emergency medical and humanitarian aid in response to floods, cyclones, earthquakes and other disasters including most recently the 2013 flooding in Uttarakhand and the destruction in Odisha from Cyclone Phailin.

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