UN Seeks $49.6m for Nepal Flood Response

Women and children rest in a centre for people who lost their homes as a result of the flood in Nepal.

The United Nations and its humanitarian partners have launched a $49.6 million flash appeal to provide emergency assistance to more than 84,000 people affected by last week’s catastrophic floods in Nepal.

The floods, triggered after a glacier collapsed on August 26 along the border between Nepal and China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, have reportedly claimed more than 1,250 lives, while thousands remain missing.

The UN humanitarian team in Nepal estimates that around 84,270 people, or 19,284 households, have been affected by the disaster.

Devastating impact

In the northern regions of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading, critical infrastructure including roads, schools, power grids and water systems has been damaged or destroyed. Many survivors have also lost their homes and family members.

Working with Nepal’s emergency authorities, the UN plans to provide assistance to help families meet their immediate needs, restore livelihoods, repair essential services, prevent disease outbreaks and prepare communities for the approaching winter.

Humanitarian teams will provide cash assistance, cold-weather shelter materials, portable solar power units, water purification systems and food. Emergency mobile clinics will also offer medical treatment and nutritional support.

“Families have lost everything: their loved ones, their homes, their livelihoods, swept away in minutes,” said Lila Pieters Yahia, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal.

She said the appeal would help deliver cash, shelter, healthcare, clean water and protection to communities that are difficult to reach before winter sets in.

Agriculture accounts for about 24 percent of Nepal’s gross domestic product, with livestock making up half of the sector, according to the World Bank. Humanitarian teams will therefore also support affected communities in keeping surviving livestock safe and healthy.

UNICEF steps up aid

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other agencies have already begun delivering assistance while rescue teams continue searching for survivors.

On Friday, a UNICEF- and European Union-supported flight carrying 84 metric tonnes of humanitarian supplies arrived in Kathmandu.

UNICEF plans to distribute diarrhoea treatment kits, water tanks, hygiene kits, water-treatment supplies, winter clothing and learning materials.

“This shipment will help us deliver urgently needed support and reach children and families with services that protect their health, wellbeing and future,” said Alice Akunga, UNICEF’s representative in Nepal.

Humanitarian partners have also transported relief supplies to some of the worst-affected areas, focusing on disease prevention and repairs to essential infrastructure.

UNICEF has provided emergency supplies and helped establish child-friendly spaces with recreational materials for children affected by the disaster.

Akunga said continued support would be essential to help children recover, stay healthy, return to learning and rebuild their lives.

“As the scale of the disaster is enormous, the needs remain significant and every day matters,” she said.