Kathmandu: More than a week after flash floods struck the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river basin in Nepal, at least 22,000 children urgently need safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene support, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday. Water systems have been damaged across affected districts, while toilets and other sanitation facilities have been damaged or destroyed, raising the risk of waterborne and infectious diseases.
According to United Nations, every parent in these districts faces the daily challenge of securing safe water for their children. Alice Akunga, UNICEF Representative in Nepal, emphasized the severity of the situation, questioning, “Where can I get water, and is it safe to give to my child?” Affected families are living with host communities or in holding centers, crowded spaces that complicate safe hygiene practices. This week, the World Health Organization (WHO) underscored the heightened risk of communicable diseases such as dengue and scrub typhus due to flooding, d
isplacement, overcrowding, and stagnant water. Ms. Akunga pointed out that while the risk of waterborne diseases increases rapidly under these conditions, it remains preventable.
UNICEF has intervened by dispatching water, sanitation, and hygiene supplies for around 19,000 people in Rasuwa and Nuwakot, areas among the hardest hit. These supplies include hygiene kits, collapsible jerrycans, buckets, mugs, water treatment solutions, and tarpaulin sheets. UNICEF staff are also collaborating with government counterparts and partners on disease surveillance, hygiene promotion, and outbreak prevention.
The flooding, triggered by a glacier collapse on the Nepal-China border on 27 August, has resulted in a death toll surpassing 1,100, as reported by international media. Critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, telecommunications networks, and water systems were damaged, complicating access to communities and the delivery of aid. UNICEF estimates that at least 19 schools have been damaged, affecting more than
10,000 school-age children who now need immediate psychosocial support and access to safe learning spaces.
Swostik Paudel, a 14-year-old from Nuwakot, shared his experience with the agency, expressing how life has changed since the floods. Previously occupied with school and friends, Swostik is now living in a shelter with his family, trying to maintain a sense of normalcy by playing football with friends, despite their limited resources.
As access to affected areas improves, UNICEF plans to enhance emergency water supply, household water treatment, water-quality monitoring, and sanitation and hygiene facilities in communities and holding centers. Ms. Akunga stressed that restoring safe water and sanitation is a lengthy process. She called for the repair and rebuilding of damaged water systems and sanitation infrastructure to better withstand future floods, warning that failure to do so would result in children facing similar hardships in future disasters.