KATHMANDU: Around 2.8 million earthquake-affected Nepali people are yet to receive vital humanitarian assistance as two months have already passed since the devastating magnitude-7.6 quake, the United Nations said on Thursday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Nepal said the survivors lack temporary shelter, food and livelihoods support, basic medical care, sanitation and hygiene and protection.

The survivors are likely to face added challenges posed by damp and cold weather in the monsoon, it added.

“Ensuring the survival of hundreds of thousands of people, who lost their homes and livelihoods in the back-to-back disasters, through the monsoon must remain our top collective priority,” Jamie McGoldrick, Humanitarian Coordinator in Nepal, said in the statement, “Timely, principled and equitable relief and recovery are the key prerequisite for any reconstruction effort to be successful."

More than 117,000 people are living in the open while around 43,500 houses have not yet received adequate relief supplies including tarpaulins for temporary shelter according to the UN.

"Material assistance, including corrugated iron sheets, is still required for 44,000 of the 125,000 families who began to rebuild their homes, relying mostly on their own means," it added.

The statement added that more than 1 million people require food assistance to meet their daily dietary requirements, while 500,000 people need continued support to protect and restore their livelihoods as estimated by aid agencies.

“Humanitarian needs are still significant and are expected to persist through the end of September,” said McGoldrick.

Few days after the earthquake, the UN had made a humanitarian appeal and sought USD 422 million assistance to people of Nepal.

"To date, only USD 153 million, or 36 per cent, was received against the USD 422-million humanitarian  Appeal," the UN said.

However, the government directly received supports worth USD 200 million from outside the appeal, it added.