Nepal, Sudan & other topics - Daily Press Briefing | United Nations

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: - Today's Briefing - Tomorrow's Guest - Travels/Kyrgyzstan - Deputy Secretary-General/Travels - Nepal - Sudan - Democratic Republic of the Congo - Guinea-Bissau - Occupied Palestinian Territory - Lebanon - Afghanistan - Financial Contribution NEPAL UN colleagues say that the response to last week's flash floods is entering a new phase, with authorities intensifying relief efforts and recovery operations. As of today, authorities have recovered more than 1,000 bodies, while 3,900 people remain unaccounted for. Nearly 12,000 have been rescued so far. For thousands of impacted families, the priority is now receiving humanitarian assistance, recovering and identifying the remains of the loved ones, tracing missing relatives, reunifying separated children, and helping people access psychosocial support. The UN is also getting a clearer picture of displacement. Nearly 3,500 people are now living in 27 displacement sites across the hardest-hit districts of Nuwakot and Rasuwa, a lot of them in school, which has a knock-on effect of disrupting education for children\ The UN and its humanitarian partners continue to support the Government-led efforts. Yesterday, colleagues from the UN system travelled to the town of Bidur, in Nuwakot, to meet with district authorities and visit displacement sites. UN partners are also working to establish a coordination hub there, so assistance reaches the communities most in need. WFP has dispatched about 80 metric tons of food, reached more than 9,000 people and has supplies available for another 5,000 families. UNICEF is procuring 10,000 cartons of therapeutic food. Eight health teams have reached more than 1,200 people in displacement sites. More than 1,800 people, including hundreds of children, have received psychological first aid, and a 24-hour mental health helpline is up and running. The World Health Organization is also supporting disease surveillance efforts in the two hardest-hit areas. The Government of Nepal and the Head of the UN Office, the Resident Coordinator in Nepal, Lila Pieters Yahia, have agreed on Friday to launch a four-month Humanitarian Flash Appeal. The appeal will support the Government-led response and focus on mobilizing resources to save lives, deliver urgent humanitarian assistance and address the most critical needs to communities impacted by the floods. UNDP has also carried out a preliminary assessment, which estimates that at least 2.2 million tonnes of debris have been left behind by floods and mudflows along the worst-affected river system in Nepal. Approximately 556,200 tonnes of that total is building debris, based on satellite assessments covering more than 2,300 damaged buildings. UNDP says the floods have also caused significant damage to energy infrastructure. Eleven hydropower stations and one solar plant, representing about 431.1 megawatts of generation capacity, have stopped operating. A further 15 hydropower projects under construction, which would have added another 470 megawatts, were damaged. UN colleagues say that the main challenge right now is access. More than 40 bridges have been destroyed, and sections of the main highway remain blocked. The most remote communities continue to rely on army helicopter flights for supplies. The UN is also very concerned about growing public health risks. Overcrowded shelters, contaminated water and damaged health facilities are putting people, especially women and children, at greater risk of disease in the middle of the monsoon season. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-09-01


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