The U.N. agency says in the weeks ahead, the international relief effort must focus on keeping children alive.
High protein biscuits, boots, sweaters, blankets, water containers, plastic tarpaulins, tents and medical supplies are being sent to the affected areas.
UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman says, "With wintry conditions arriving in the higher elevations, children are facing a potentially deadly combination of cold, malnutrition, and disease. Most housing has been destroyed in the hardest-hit areas, so the survival of thousands of young children is now at stake."
Sixty-percent of the routine immunization coverage in the quake zone is for young children, so hundreds of thousands are unprotected against deadly diseases such as measles. UNICEF is sending Vitamin A to the region to boost children's immune systems. Children weakened by exposure and malnutrition are more vulnerable to measles.
The earthquake has killed tens of thousands in northwest Pakistan and in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. India reports more than 1,300 deaths in its portion of Kashmir.
