Flash floods in Nepal leave thousands of children in urgent need of humanitarian assistance
UNICEF is surging support now.
A torrent of water, mud and debris swept away entire communities in Nepal on 26 August 2026, killing hundreds and leaving thousands missing. As search efforts continue, survivors across the Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts have been cut off from urgent care. Roads and bridges have collapsed. Hydropower, water and telecommunications networks are down. Health facilities have toppled.
UNICEF is on the ground, scaling up our emergency response. But we need additional support to reach the thousands of children affected.
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Why are children especially affected by flooding?
In the wake of disaster, children are particularly vulnerable to health and protection risks.
Damage to water supply systems and sanitation facilities – combined with overcrowded living conditions among those who have lost homes – make waterborne and infectious disease outbreaks more likely. These can be much more harmful to children than adults, especially when access to health services has been disrupted. UNICEF estimates that at least 22,000 children urgently need safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene support.
Families may also struggle to meet children’s nutritional needs. Some children under five will require treatment for severe wasting following the destruction of critical infrastructure and food systems, while pregnant and breastfeeding women also need support.
Through it all, the psychological impact on children is severe. Many have lost homes or loved ones, fled rapidly rising floodwaters or been torn from their families in the chaos of the day.
Preliminary reports also indicate that children have been separated from their parents and caregivers. Displacement and increased movement, particularly in border areas, heighten the risks of trafficking, exploitation, abuse and gender-based violence.
What do children in Nepal need now?
Thousands of children need immediate psychosocial care and protective spaces where they can continue learning and regain a sense of stability. They need safe drinking water, healthcare, nutrition support, and sanitation and hygiene services.
For families who have lost their homes, including those staying with host families or in Government-run holding centres, these needs are urgent.
And for children who have been separated from their families, UNICEF and partners must act as quickly and safely as possible to identify, register and reunite them with their parents or caregivers.
What is UNICEF doing to help?
Working closely with the Government of Nepal and humanitarian partners, we’re surging life-saving support to keep children safe from disease, malnutrition, violence and exploitation – risks that swell after severe flooding.
Already, UNICEF has:
- Provided thousands of people with hygiene kits, buckets, soap, disinfectant, collapsible jerrycans and water purification products
- Delivered hundreds of bed nets, newborn kits, cartons of ready-to-use therapeutic food, and cartons of micronutrient powders
- Provided medical tents, along with mental health and psychosocial care to help children cope with trauma
- Supported Government-led efforts to identify, register, trace and reunify unaccompanied and separated children
- Dispatched pre-positioned education supplies to affected areas, and led efforts to establish temporary learning spaces for children whose schools have been damaged
- Partnered with the Government and others to provide emergency cash assistance to affected families through existing social protection systems
UNICEF’s pre-positioned supplies have provided a critical head start, but additional resources are urgently needed to sustain and scale up our response as access improves and humanitarian needs grow.
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