Nepal floods cut off safe water access for 22,000 children: UNICEF

September 04, 2026 / 11:19 AM

Army personnel and Nepal Scouts install a zip-line across the Trishuli River after flash floods in Nuwakot.

Sharjah24 - AFP: More than a week after flash floods hit Nepal’s Bhotekoshi-Trishuli river basin, at least 22,000 children are in urgent need of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene assistance, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Water and sanitation infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed across affected districts, increasing the risk of waterborne and infectious diseases.

“Every parent in these districts is now making the same calculation several times a day,” said Alice Akunga, UNICEF Representative in Nepal. “Where can I get water, and is it safe to give to my child?”

UNICEF has dispatched water, sanitation and hygiene supplies for around 19,000 people in Rasuwa and Nuwakot, among the hardest hit areas.

These items include more than 3,800 hygiene kits, 3,300 collapsible 10-litre jerrycans, 3,500 buckets, 3,500 one-litre mugs, 4,000 bottles of water treatment solution and more than 1,000 tarpaulin sheets.

Staff are also working with government counterparts and partners on disease surveillance, hygiene promotion and outbreak prevention.

UNICEF estimates that at least 19 schools have been damaged, including eight that were completely and eight partially destroyed, while more than 10,000 school-age children need immediate psychosocial support and access to safe learning spaces.