Save the Children assists children in recent Assam floods

Guwahati: In Assam, due to flood more than 4,000 villages are affected. Major roads into and out of the state are blocked, making relief efforts particularly challenging. Over 5.2 million people, which are more than a tenth of the state’s total population, have been directly affected, including 1.72 million children. As per the latest floods report from the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), 30 of the 33 districts are severely affected due to the river embankments being breached in a number of areas. While closely monitoring the situation — in coordination with SPHERE India, the national humanitarian coalition — Save the Children is prepared to respond to the most vital needs of children and their families, stated a press release.

It would do so in coordination with the State government and other agencies (non-governmental agencies) — at the national level. Save the Children works across 19 states of India and it focuses on issues related to education, health, and protection and humanitarian/DRR needs of children, especially for those who are the most deprived and marginalized. Anindit Roy, Programme & Policy Director at Save the Children, said, “We aim to reach 15,000 children in Assam immediately with life-saving aid including temporary shelter, water, hygiene and sanitation services – all of which are essential to protect children from the elements and potential disease. Our teams on the ground say roads are blocked and power is out, making it very difficult to access towns and villages cut off from the outside world. Working with the government and our local partners our priority is to help the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities affected by the floods.”

Also read: Interactive session held by Save the Children (international NGO), SEWA and Dibrugarh University